Inside Lacrosse Top-20 | Preseason All-America Team

BALTIMORE – Coming off an appearance in the NCAA Division III national championship game, the Gettysburg College men's lacrosse team has been ranked No. 3 according to a recent preseason poll released by Inside Lacrosse.

The Bullets, who finished 16-4 (7-1 CC) last season, were ranked behind No. 2 Stevenson University and No. 1 SUNY Cortland, the defending national champion. Rounding out the top-10 were Gettysburg, No. 4 Salisbury University, No. 5 Roanoke College, No. 6 Middlebury College, No. 7 Western New England College, No. 8 Tufts University, No. 9 Denison University, and No. 10 Cabrini College.

Gettysburg, which returns seven of its top 10 scorers and seven players who started a year ago, was also favored by Inside Lacrosse to win the Centennial Conference in 2010. The Bullets are the six-time defending conference champions.

In addition, the Bullets had a pair of players named preseason All-Americans, as seniors Tim Kurpis (Yorktown, N.Y./Yorktown) and Kyle McGrath (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) each garnered first-team recognition.

A two-year starter, Kurpis is the Bullets' lone returning All-American from the 2009 season, having been selected as an honorable mention. A true student-athlete, he was also honored as an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American in the Men's At-Large College Division. Kurpis was a leading force on defense for the Bullets in 2009, starting all 20 contests and ranking among the team leaders with 42 ground balls and 24 caused turnovers. He also earned first-team All-Centennial Conference honors.

McGrath is coming off his most productive season of his career, finishing third on the team in points (41), goals (31), and assists (10) a year ago. For his efforts, he earned his first All-Conference selection, garnering second team honors. He made his mark as a clutch performer, posting 16 of his goals and four of his assists in the Bullets six playoff games. McGrath tallied 12 goals and four assists in Gettysburg's four NCAA tournament contests.

The Bullets play their 2010 opener at home when they take on Messiah College Feb. 24 at 3:30 p.m.