Bulldogs finish season with #20 ranking

BRYANT RANKED NO. 20 IN FINAL NIKE/INSIDE LACROSSE MEDIA POLL

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – After earning the first NCAA tournament berth in program history, the Bryant University men's lacrosse team finishes the 2013 campaign with a No. 20 national ranking in the final Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, as announced Thursday.

The Bulldogs finished the year as the Northeast Conference Regular-Season and Tournament Champions, defending their 2012 league title while earning the first-ever NEC automatic qualifier into the NCAA tournament, as well as the first NCAA tournament appearance by any Bryant team at the Division I level.

The Black and Gold faced arguably their most challenging schedule ever this season – one that included contests against four other programs ranked in the final top-20 poll – leading up to a first-round bout against national runner-up and top-seeded Syracuse University May 12 inside the Carrier Dome. Bryant is the only team out of the Northeast Conference to make the national top-20 cut and is one of just two programs from the Northeast to make the list, alongside fellow NCAA tournament qualifier and seventh-ranked Yale.

The Bulldogs leave the 2013 season behind having set all-time team records for games played (19), faceoff winning percentage (.728), saves (220) and saves per game (11.58). Bryant also saw one individual career record, six individual single-season records and three NCAA single-season records fall in 2013.