NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - The Columbia men's squash team has been selected 10th in the Dunlop Men's College Squash Association preseason poll, as announced by CSA Monday.

Columbia will begin the 2012-13 season with the same ranking it concluded the previous season with. In just its second season as a varsity program, the Lions claimed second at the Hoehn Cup (B Division) and earned its second consecutive Barnaby Award as the nation's most improved team.

Ramit Tandon, a First-Team All-American and the runner-up at last year's CSA Individual National Championship returns to Columbia for his sophomore campaign.

The Lions retain 10 student-athletes from the 2011-12 squad, while also adding quality talent in four newcomers. Tony Zou, a CSA scholar-athlete, and Andrew Tan will provide the leadership to this season's team as captains.

Princeton garnered the top ranking in the preseason poll. The Tigers captured the 2012 Potter Cup as college squash's national champion, becoming the first team other than Trinity to win a national title in 15 years. The Bantams picked up the second spot, while Harvard, Cornell and Rochester round out the top-five, respectively.

Columbia will see its first action this weekend when it heads to New Haven, Conn. to compete in the Ivy League scrimmages. The Lions open the regular season Friday, Nov. 30 at home against No. 29 Georgetown.