ROCK HILL, S.C. --- The Tusculum College men's lacrosse team has been picked to finish seventh in the South Atlantic Conference in its inaugural season, according to a poll of the league's eight head coaches.

Head coach Richard Carrington will lead the Pioneers into their debut next Saturday at Ohio Valley University, the first game in a schedule of 13 games that includes seven SAC contests. 2014 marks the first season that the SAC has sponsored men's lacrosse as a championship sport.

Mars Hill and Queens shared the top spot in the coaches poll, with the Lions earning four first-place votes and the Royals three. Catawba is picked for third, followed by Lenoir-Rhyne, Coker, Wingate, Tusculum and Brevard.

The Pioneers will play their first home game in program history on Saturday, Feb. 15 at noon against Lees-McRae and will face Lenoir-Rhyne in their first SAC contest on Saturday, March 1 at 2 p.m. at Pioneer Field. The SAC Tournament is scheduled for April 17 and 19 in Charlotte.

- SAC -

2014 SAC Men's Lacrosse Coaches' Poll
Rk. Team (1st Place Votes) Pts
1 Mars Hill (4) 45
Queens (3) 45
3 Catawba 36
4 Lenoir-Rhyne (1) 34
5 Coker 24
6 Wingate 20
7 TUSCULUM 13
8 Brevard 7

2014 Preseason All-South Atlantic Conference Men's Lacrosse Team
First Team
A - John Scheich, Catawba
A - Jimmy McBride, Mars Hill
A - Ryan Maurer, Coker
MF - Anthony Malcolm, Mars Hill
MF - Tyler Kotch, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF - Sam Ashton, Lenoir-Rhyne
D - Patrick Murphy, Queens
D - Gage Mason, Catawba
D - Stephen O'Hara, Lenoir-Rhyne
LSM - Tanner Leach, Mars Hill
SPEC - Daniel Rew, Catawba
GK - Patrick McMahon, Mars Hill

Second Team
A - Ryan Vogrig, Wingate
A - Garrett Chan, Queens
A - Casey Hock, Queens
MF - Imari Davis, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF - Bryce Sneed, Wingate
MF - Timothy Smith, Coker
D - Patrick Thomas, Queens
D - Max Baltzer, Coker
D - Jim Elliott, Coker
LSM - Tim Cloud, Queens
SPEC - Kenneth Stryker, Queens
GK - Tim Ryan, Coker