SPARKS, Md. – Five members of the #9 University of Pennsylvania men's lacrosse team earned Preseason All-America nods, announced by USA Lacrosse Magazine Tuesday afternoon.
 
Headlining the list is senior midfielder Sam Handley, who earned first team accolades. Piper Bond (third team), Dylan Gergar (HM), BJ Farrare (HM) and Brendan Lavelle (HM) join him on the list.
 
Handley has already had his fair share of preseason looks heading into the 2023 season, ranked second in the nation on Inside Lacrosse's Top 50 Men's Lacrosse Players to Watch in 2023. He was also in the running to qualify for the U.S. Men's National Team up until the very last tryout. Handley, a finalist for the coveted Tewaaraton Award in 2022, was named Ivy League Player of the Year and a unanimous First-team All-Ivy selection a year ago for his tremendous performance. He started all 16 games, finishing with 36 goals and 37 assists. He was a First-team All-American for three publications including USA Lacrosse Magazine, Inside Lacrosse and USILA. In addition, Handley received the Donald J. MacLaughlin Jr. Award, given to the USILA Midfielder of the Year.
 
Bond enjoyed strong success during the course of the 2022 season, tallying 29 groundballs to pair alongside 11 caused turnovers in 16 games. On offense, he finished with two goals and two assists, earning First-team All-Ivy honors as well as an Inside Lacrosse All-America honorable mention.
 
Like Handley, Gergar also returns to University City for his fifth year at Penn following a strong 2022 where he finished with a team-high 52 goals and 17 assists for 69 points. His goal and point totals are ranked second and third, respectively, in single-season program history. Gergar capped off his year with Honorable mention USA Lacrosse Magazine and USILA All-America honors, as well as being named a Second-team All-Ivy selection.
 
Farrare was a force on defense in 2022, leading Penn with 19 caused turnovers and finishing second on the team with 55 ground balls. Playing all 16 games at long-stick middle or closed defense, he earned Honorable mention All-America by USILA and Inside Lacrosse and was an Honorable mention All-Ivy honoree. Farrare added two goals and six assists to his statistical totals for the year.
 
Lavelle finished the year with 11 caused turnovers and 24 ground balls in 11 starts for the Red and Blue, earning Honorable mention All-America honors from USILA, Inside Lacrosse and USA Lacrosse Magazine as well as Second team All-Ivy accolades. Lavelle also landed himself onto the Tewaaraton Award Midseason Watch List.
 
Penn opens its 2023 slate in almost a month's time, taking on Georgetown Feb. 18 at noon on the road.