Feb. 21, 2005

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Men's lacrosse senior defender Jon Urbana (Denver, Colo.) is one of 37 players who has been named to the preseason watch list by the Tewaaraton Award Foundation.

The award is presented annually to the nation's top player. Over the course of the season, the list will be narrowed to produce five finalists. Coaches will vote during the season to narrow the list. According to the Tewaaraton Award Foundation, the preseason watch list indicates those players who are considered to be among the best in the country by the nation's head coaches.

Urbana, who keys a Villanova defense that ranked seventh in the entire nation last season, was named a second team preseason All-American by Faceoff magazine and Insidelacrosse.com. As a junior in 2004, Urbana was an honorable mention All-American and the Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year.

In 14 games last season, Urbana played stellar defense and picked up 40 ground balls. He drew the difficult assignment of marking the opposing team's top offensive player in each game, and was a critical reason the Wildcats went 12-3, setting a school record for the season win total.

Of the 37 players selected for the preseason list, Urbana was one of just three representing teams from the CAA. He joined Brett Moyer (Hofstra) and Reed Sothoron (Towson).

Villanova opened the 2005 season last Saturday with an 8-6 loss to Colgate. The squad's home opener is this coming Saturday against Binghamton at 3:00 p.m.