Coaches, SIDs Pick Gophers to Win 2012 Landmark Title

Hannan's Squad Finishes Eight Points Ahead of Scranton

MADISON, N.J. — Goucher is favored to win the 2012 Landmark Conference championship in a preseason poll of head coaches and sports information directors from the schools which sponsor the sport.

The Gophers, who have won 20 of the 23 Landmark Conference games they've played over the past four years, earned 61 points in the preseason balloting, eight more than Scranton, which finished second in the poll. Third place went to Catholic with 47 points and fourth went to Susquehanna with 41 points.

Drew and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy came in fifth and sixth, respectively, in the annual poll. Washington & Jefferson, which is entering its first year as an affiliate member of the Landmark Conference, is picked to finish in seventh place.

"It's an honor to be picked to win the Landmark title in 2012," said Goucher head coach Kyle Hannan, "but this is a conference that has had four different champions in its first four seasons of competition. We'll see if we can live up to those expectations because the way I see it, anybody in our conference is capable of knocking off any of the other teams on any given day."

Goucher and Catholic launched their 2012 campaigns this past weekend and the remaining teams will all begin their seasons by Feb. 29. The Gophers opened with victories over Southwestern (Texas), 27-7, and Dallas, 30-2; the Cardinals defeated Hood, 7-3.

The opening weekend of Landmark play takes place March 17 when Drew travels to play Susquehanna, Catholic hosts Merchant Marine and Washington & Jefferson visits Goucher in its first Landmark contest.