NEWARK, DE -- The University of Delaware men’s lacrosse squad, which posted its finest season in school history in 2007 when the Blue Hens advanced all the way to the national semifinals, has been selected the 2007 Delaware Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association Team of the Year.

The award, selected by sportswriters, broadcasters, and sports publicists throughout the state of Delaware, will be presented at the 59th annual DSBA Banquet on Sunday, January 27 at 6 p.m. at the Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington, DE. Tickets are $50 each and can be purchased in advance at B&B Tickettown (656-9797) or online at http://delsports.org/.

The Blue Hen lacrosse team (13-6), which will begin its 2008 season Feb. 9 vs. Saint Joseph’s for 30th-year head coach Bob Shillinglaw, captured the attention of the state and the nation in 2007 as Delaware advanced all the way to the NCAA Division I national semifinals for the first time in school history before falling to eventual national champion Johns Hopkins 8-3 before a crowd of 52,000 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The game was also televised nationally on ESPN.

After opening the season with five straight wins, the Blue Hens struggled and were just 6-5 in mid-April before rallying in the final quarter to defeat Colonial Athletic Association foe Villanova 19-18 on the road April 14. That win ignited the Blue Hens, who went on to win seven straight games before the national semifinal loss. The Blue Hens swept through the CAA Tournament, defeating nationally-ranked Drexel 11-7 in the semifinals and Towson 10-7 in the championship game, both on the road, to earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

Once in the tournament, the Hens pulled a shocker in the first round, soundly defeating defending national champion and No. 2 ranked Virginia 14-8 in Charlottesville, VA. Delaware then moved on with a 10-6 win over UMBC in the national quarterfinals at Navy to earn a spot in the Final Four.

The Blue Hens were led by a strong senior class that included All-American midfielders Alex Smith and Jordan Hall and All-CAA selections in attackman Adam Zuder-Havens, midfielder Dan Deckelbaum, and defenseman Rob Smith. Alex Smith, a three-time All-American, set every NCAA faceoff record during his stellar career and was also named the CAA Player of the Year.

Philadelphia Eagles radio play by play broadcaster Merrill Reese will serve as the toastmaster for the DSBA event. Other awards that will be presented during the annual banquet are the John J. Brady Award for Outstanding Athlete of 2007, the Tubby Raymond Award as the state’s Coach of the Year, and the Herm Reitzes Award for public service. In addition, high school All-State selections from the 2007 fall sports season are also recognized. The event will also include celebrity guests from Delaware, Philadelphia, and Baltimore area high school, college, and professional sports teams.

The Team of the Year, which was first selected in 1999, honors a team at the youth, high school, college, or professional level for outstanding accomplishments during the year. Past winners have been Stanton-Newport Senior softball (1999), St. Mark’s High School boy’s soccer (2000), Delmar High School football (2001), Salesianum School swimming & diving (2002), University of Delaware football and Naamans Little League (2003), Salesianum School soccer (2004), Wesley College football (2005), and Tatnall School girl’s cross country (2006).