BALTIMORE, Md. -- The Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team earned another top-five ranking in a national preseason poll on Tuesday morning after the Captains were slotted fourth in the initial release by Inside Lacrosse.

The Inside Lacrosse ranking comes on the heels of the USA Lacrosse Magazine poll, which was announced earlier this month and had Christopher Newport slotted second in the country. The Captains have now been listed in each of the last five preseason polls released by Inside Lacrosse. The squad opened up last year ranked fifth by the publication.

After claiming back-to-back national championships, RIT enters 2023 as the preseason favorites, while Tufts and Salisbury round out the top-three.

A slew of familiar foes dot the top-20 rankings. Christopher Newport will square off against No. 1 RIT on March 17 at the Mustang Classic in Owings Mills, Maryland and No. 3 Salisbury during a Coastal Lacrosse Conference tilt on April 8 at Sea Gull Stadium. Additionally, the Captains have dates scheduled with No. 9 Dickinson (March 18), No. 11 Lynchburg (April 1), No. 12 St. John Fisher (March 8), No. 13 Stevenson (February 25), and No. 18 Washington & Lee (March 22).

Christopher Newport is coming off of a 2022 campaign in which the squad posted an 18-2 record while advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals. Along the way, the team knocked off seven nationally-ranked opponents and claimed the regular season league championship for the first time in program history.

The Captains welcome back seven of their 10 starters from last year's Elite Eight showdown against York (Pa.), including first-team All-American Coby Auslander, who set the program record with 46 assists last year. Warner Cabaniss, Andrew Cook, Zac Hanway, Campbell Pozin, and Burke Widhelm are also back after securing national plaudits in 2022.

Christopher Newport will kick off the 2023 season on February 18 when the team hosts Grove City at noon.

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