Monday, August 4, 2003

GREYHOUNDS SELECTED SEVENTH IN MAC PRESEASON FOOTBALL POLL

ANNVILLE, PA --- The Moravian College football team has been selected to finish seventh and Lycoming College was picked to win the 2003 Middle Atlantic Conference Championship based on a poll of the conference head coaches.

Lycoming received four of a possible 11 first-place votes, and the Warriors, who are looking for their 29th consecutive winning season, had a total of 112 points. Wilkes University, which returns 17 starters from the ECAC South Atlantic Championship team, also received four first place votes and was second overall with 101 points.

Defending co-MAC champions Widener University and King’s College were selected third and fourth, respectively. The Pioneers received 95 points while the Monarchs had 82 points and two first place votes. King’s was the MAC representative in the NCAA Division III Playoffs last year with a 1-1 record. Juniata College and Susquehanna University tied for fifth with 73 points with the Eagles receiving the final first place vote.

The Greyhounds earned 68 points for their seventh place finish, one spot lower than Moravian was in 2002 when the squad posted a 7-4 overall record and was third in the MAC with a 7-2 mark. The Greyhounds return 11 starters this season, and head coach Scot Dapp looks to rely on several returning players to lead the squad. Coach Dapp has four All-Conference players returning in senior defensive backs Nate Pogue (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS) and John Panikiewsky (Carteret, NJ/Carteret HS), junior punter John McLain (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere HS) and sophomore kicker Nate Strohl (Coplay, PA/Whitehall HS).

Albright College was picked eighth in the poll with 53 points while FDU-Florham was ninth with 27 points. Rounding out the poll were Delaware Valley College in tenth place with 23 points and Lebanon Valley College with 19 points.

Moravian is slated to begin the 2003 MAC season on Friday, September 5th at FDU-Florham in a 7:00 p.m. kickoff.

2003 MIDDLE ATLANTIC CONFERENCE FOOTBALL PRESEASON POLL

First-place votes in parentheses