"It's going to be a lot tougher than last couple of years," Lifford said. "There are a lot of teams that have strong line-ups."

"It's going to be a dogfight," Polsky said. "We were happy with our performance in the pre-season tournament. It's going to be one of those Batman mystery capers, where the winner is going to be decided on the last shot."

Penn has two of the top players in the game with freshman Rudolfo Ruiz--the most sought after recruit this year--and senior Stuart Ballard. The return of Peter Lubowitz will bolster the Qauker line-up.

Yale only lost one player from its 11-2 team. The Elis top players are Ivy Rookie of the Year Jon Musto, Cyrus Metha and Tom Clayton. Tim Goodale is also returning after taking a year off. Yale also has freshman Gary Grank, last year's top junior player.

Princeton (9-1, last year) will field a strong team. The Tiger's top players are Ivy Player of the Year Jeff Stanley, Chris Stevens and Roy Rubin.

National Title

For the first time, the national nine-man title will be decided in a single-elimination tournament.

Before, the national title was given to the team with the best regular-season record.

The Ivy title will still be determined by regular-season play.

Expect the Crimson to be in the hunt once again.