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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
No. 23 Football Picked Fourth In Annual Preseason Media Poll
August 06, 2007 | Football
The defending Ivy League champion Princeton football team, the only Ivy League squad to be ranked in the Top 25 of both the SME and the CSN national preseason polls, was picked to finish fourth in the 2007 Ivy League preseason media poll, it was announced Monday morning during Ivy League Football Media Day. Princeton, which was picked to finish sixth in each of the last two years, enters the 2007 season having won 17 of its last 21 teams, including nine during a magical 2006 season.
Yale, which shared the Ivy title with Princeton last season despite losing 34-31 to the Tigers during a classic showdown at The Yale Bowl last November, was picked to finish first by the league media members. The Bulldogs received 14 of the 16 first-place votes, while second-place Penn and third-place Harvard each got one vote apiece. Princeton finished eight points behind Harvard in the poll and 25 points ahead of fifth-place Cornell.
"We're honored to be picked among the top half of the Ivy League in the preseason poll," head coach Roger Hughes said. "We realize that preseason polls mean nothing when the games start, and we have a lot of work to do. We look forward to trying to surpass expectations once again this season."
Princeton returns seven starters apiece on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Leading the offensive returners is 2007 co-captain and first-team All-Ivy wideout Brendan Circle, who led the Ivy League with 83.5 receiving yards per game and seven touchdown receptions. The running back tandem of senior Rob Toresco and junior R.C. Lagomarsino returns, as does three members of the offensive line, including starting tackles Brendon Swisher and Mark Paski. The latter became the first freshman to ever start every game of his freshman season on the offensive line.
The defense returns its entire three-man front, a trio of juniors who gained valuable experience in each of their first two years. Pete Buchignani, who earned 2006 All-Ivy honorable mention, joins Tom Methvin and Matt Koch on one of the strongest defensive lines in the league. Several experienced linebackers also return, including 2007 co-captain Jon Stem and 2006 leading Tiger tackler Tim Boardman.
Princeton will open its 2007 season Sept. 15 against Lehigh at 6 p.m. on Powers Field at Princeton Stadium.
2007 PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
1- Yale (14 first-place votes) 125 points
2 - Penn (1) 102
3 - Harvard (1) 95
4 - Princeton 87
5 - Cornell 62
6 - Columbia 44
7 - Brown 33
8 - Dartmouth 28