FOREST, Va. --- Five-time defending ODAC champion Washington and Lee University leads the 2015 ODAC Women's Lacrosse Preseason Poll, garnering 99 total points and nine first place votes from the league's head coaches.  Roanoke College sits second with 84 points, while Randolph-Macon College occupies third with 78 tallies and one top nod.  Shenandoah University received the remaining first place vote, holding down the fourth spot with 74 points.

Head Coach Mary Schwartz hit a career milestone last year by winning her 100^th career game in 2014 with a  14-8 win over Virginia Wesleyan.  Schwartz enters her 11^th season at the helm of the Maroons with the 2015 season.  Over her past 10 seasons, she has compiled seven 10-win campaigns and is averaging over 10 wins per season.  She was also asked to lead the 2014 IWLCA Division III North-South All-Star South Team, a first time honor for the Maroons head coach.

While the Maroons graduated Roanoke's All-Time assists leader and second all-time points scorer, Allison Bonanno, the squad returns with three All-ODAC selections.  Darragh Evarts, a senior from Goldens Bridge, NY, enters the season knocking at the door of multiple records.  She already holds the all-time record for draw controls with 291, almost 100 more than second place.  She is also fourth all-time in goals scored with 195 and fifth in total points with 256.  Evarts, who was selected as First Team All-State and All-ODAC, as well as a member of the 2014 All-Chesapeake Region Team, finished the year with 71 goals and 32 assists, tallying 103 points.  Evarts led the squad with 19 free-position goals, and 53 ground balls.

Claire Feeney, a junior from Old Greenwich, CT, was also named First Team All-State and All-ODAC, as well as a member of the All-Chesapeake Region Team.  Feeney ranked fourth in the ODAC and second on the team in goals with 62, and fifth in the ODAC in total points with 82.  She also ranked eighth in the conference in shots on goal (83), and ninth in free position goals (10).  She finished the season with 31 ground balls and 48 draw controls (11^th in ODAC).  Alexa Germany, from West Hempstead, NY was also named Third Team All-ODAC last season, and returns to the squad in 2015.  She played defense for the Maroons and played in all 17 games.  She picked up 17 ground balls, as well as forced 11 turnovers.  She played a strong roll in transition from defense to offense, and tallied her first career goal and assist in the 22-14 win over Randolph-Macon.

The Maroons return seven of the top 10 scorers from the 2014 season back to the turf at Kerr Stadium.  These seven players scored 245 of the Maroons 274 goals, a mark of 89 percent of the RC goals in 2014.  They also combined for 79 of the team's 125 assists, which account for 63 percent of all of Roanoke's assists.  Courtney McCartin, a sophomore from Ashton, MD, tied for fifth in scoring for the Maroons in 2014, putting up 11 goals.  She was fifth in points with 18 points, having dished out seven assists.  She also tallied 12 round balls.  Julia Galanto, a sophomore from West Hartford, CT, also finished with 11 goals, but dished out five assists for a total of 16 points.  She was fourth on the squad in ground balls, pick up 28 over the season.

Nicole Zelnik, a junior from Hercules, CA, put up eight goals and one assist last season for 13 points.  She tallied 10 ground balls, forced one turnover and scored two free position goals.  Allison Beames, a sophomore from Tampa, FL played in 13 games and finished with five goals and three assists.  She also tallied eight ground balls and forced three turnovers.  Broghan McEnerney played in 11 games to score five goals and two assists.  Also returning to the Maroons squad is senior Meghan Gerrie, a Fergus, Canada native, who picked up 23 ground balls, and forced 11 turnovers for the Maroons in 2014.

Between the pipes for the Maroons will be Lauren Curtin, a senior from Hudson, OH.  Curtin played in all 18 games last season for Roanoke, tallying 867 minutes in goal.  She tallied 154 saves, which ranked fourth in the ODAC.  Her save percentage of 45.4 was the fifth best save percentage in the conference.  Curtin finished the season with eight wins, which also ranked fourth in the ODAC.

The Maroons open up the season on February 22^nd as they travel to Danville, KY to face off against Centre College.  The Colonels finished the 2014 season with a record of 16-3, but fell in the SAA Championship game to Sewanee, narrowly missing the NCAA Tournament.  Roanoke will go on its spring break trip to take on Christopher Newport in Puerto Rico.  The Maroons defeated the Captains last season at CNU, winning the contest 16-15 in overtime.

Roanoke will come home and play a trio of tough home games against teams that either are in the IWLCA preseason top-20, or received votes for that poll.  The Maroons host #1 Salisbury on March 8^th at Kerr Stadium.  The defending National Champions will enter Kerr after a 23-1 season where the Sea Gulls defeated Trinity in the NCAA Championship game for the national title.  Three days later, the Maroons will open Old Dominion Athletic Conference play with a visit from #12 Washington & Lee.  The Generals were 17-3, 10-0 in the ODAC in 2014, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.  On March 14^th, Mary Washington, who received votes in the preseason poll, comes to Salem to complete the tough trio of contests.  The Eagles were 13-5 last season and fell in the second round of the CAC Tournament.

Roanoke will play McDaniel at home on March 17^th in the final game of a four game homestand before traveling to take on Shenandoah in a continuation of ODAC action.  The Maroons return to Salem for another four game homestand, starting with #3 Middlebury College on March 23^rd.  The Panthers went 12-6 in 2014, but advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament, falling to Gettysburg, 9-7.  Two days later, the Maroons face off against Hollins, before welcoming St. Mary's for Roanoke's final non-conference game of the season.  Roanoke will host Bridgewater at 7:00 PM on March 30^th in the fourth straight home game, to start the remainder of the ODAC season.

The Maroons will have two away games on April 1^st and 3^rd, playing Guilford and Randolph, respectively.  Roanoke will close out home play with back to back games on April 9^th and 10^th.  On the 9^th, Roanoke will host Sweet Briar at 4:00 PM, followed the next day against Virginia Wesleyan at 6:00 PM.  The final two games of the regular season will be against Lynchburg on April 15^th and Randolph-Macon on April 18^th.  Randolph-Macon knocked the Maroons out of the ODAC Tournament in 2014, so this will be a match to watch, in the final game before the 2015 ODAC Tournament begins.

Listed below is the full 2015 ODAC Women's Lacrosse Preseason Poll.  For more information on ODAC women's lacrosse, visit any of the participating school's websites, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet atwww.odaconline.com.  Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook.  You can also follow the ODAC on Twitter @odacathletics. 

2015 ODAC WOMEN'S LACROSSE PRESEASON POLL
(#) Denotes First Place Votes

1. Washington and Lee (9)	99 pts.
2. Roanoke	84 pts.
3. Randolph-Macon (1)	78 pts.
4. Shenandoah (1)	74 pts.
5. Guilford	71 pts.
6. Lynchburg	59 pts.
7. Bridgewater	41 pts.
8. Virginia Wesleyan	40 pts.
9. Randolph	30 pts.
10. Sweet Briar	19 pts.
11. Hollins	10 pts.