Warriors receiving votes in initial D3football.com poll

A WOLnews file photo

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Coming off its third eight-win season in four years, the Lycoming College football team is one of three Middle Atlantic Conference teams receiving votes in the D3football.com Preseason Poll, as the team received 11 votes in the initial poll, the website announced on Monday, July 13.

It is the eighth straight year that the Warriors have received a vote in the D3football.com poll

It is the eighth straight year that the Warriors have received a vote in the D3football.com poll, as Lycoming is listed 13th in the Others Receiving Votes portion of the top 25 poll, behind Heidelberg, Franklin, Rowan, Wis.-Platteville, Delaware Valley, Hardin-Simmons, Christopher Newport, Montclair State, St. Lawrence, Guilford, Ithaca and MIT.

Widener leads the MAC schools in the poll, sitting 12th with 320 votes, as the Pride are coming off a 12-1 season and a visit to the NCAA Division III quarterfinals. Delaware Valley received 34 votes and is coming off a 9-2 season in which it earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Defending national champion Wis.-Whitewater topped the poll with 18 first place votes, while Mount Union, Linfield, Mary Hardin-Baylor and Wesley round out the top five.

The Warriors rose as high as 20th in the national poll and earned votes during five of the first six weeks during the 2014 season. In 2013, the team was ranked as high as 24th during the team’s run to a MAC title. In both 2011 and 2012, the squad picked up votes during three weeks. The 2010 squad earned a vote after Week 7 and the 2009 team earned votes in the preseason poll. The 2008 MAC Championship squad earned votes in three weeks of the season.

The Warriors finished 8-2 and in third place in the Middle Atlantic Conference in 2014, the program's fifth straight winning season. The team was paced by 13 All-MAC performers, including Capital One Academic All-American running back Craig Needhammer '15 (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) and senior D3football.com All-East Region wide receiver Ryan Umpleby (Forest Hill, Md./Fallston).

The Warriors open the 2015 season on Saturday, Sept. 5, when they head to rival Susquehanna University for the Stagg Hat Trophy game at 1 p.m.