Defending NCAA Champs Sweep Top Spots in IWLCA Preseason Polls
Mon Jan 29 2018 | Matt DaSilva | College
College Women
PHOTOS BY JOHN STROHSACKER, GREG WALL AND KEITH LUCAS
Maryland's Megan Taylor, Adelphi's Michele Scannell and Gettysburg's Steph Colson lead their top-ranked teams into the 2018 season.
Defending NCAA champions Maryland, Adelphi and Gettysburg are the top-ranked teams in the IWLCA preseason coaches polls, which were released Monday.
Maryland, which has lost all of four games combined over the last five seasons, took the No. 1 spot in Division I, garnering 24 of 25 first-place votes. The remaining first-place vote went to No. 2 Stony Brook. North Carolina, Penn State and Florida round out the top five.
In Division II, Adelphi likewise earned 24 of 25 first-place votes, the one dissenter going in favor of No. 2 Florida Southern, which has met the Panthers in the last two NCAA championship games. Semifinalists Lindenwood and Le Moyne are No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, with LIU post coming in at No. 5.
The Division III poll is tighter at the top. Gettysburg grabbed 19 of 25 first-place votes, with TCNJ — ranked No. 1 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Preseason Top 20 — siphoning off six first-place votes from the Bullets from the No. 2 spot. Washington and Lee, Trinity and Middlebury round out the top five.
The complete polls, expanded to 25 teams in all three divisions, can be found below.
IWLCA Division I Preseason Poll
Rank |
Team |
Pts (1st) |
2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maryland | 624 (24) | 23-0 |
| 2 | Stony Brook | 582 (1) | 20-2 |
| 3 | North Carolina | 564 | 17-3 |
| 4 | Penn State | 511 | 17-4 |
| 5 | Florida | 501 | 17-3 |
| 6 | Boston College | 475 | 17-7 |
| 7 | Syracuse | 465 | 15-7 |
| 8 | USC | 436 | 18-4 |
| 9 | Princeton | 424 | 15-4 |
| 10 | Navy | 422 | 18-5 |
| 11 | Northwestern | 391 | 11-10 |
| 12 | Penn | 362 | 13-4 |
| 13 | Cornell | 306 | 13-6 |
| 14 | Virginia | 299 | 12-9 |
| 15 | Notre Dame | 275 | 11-8 |
| 16 | James Madison | 235 | 14-7 |
| 17 | Colorado | 228 | 16-4 |
| 18 | UMass | 168 | 17-4 |
| 19 | Towson | 137 | 12-7 |
| 20 | Duke | 133 | 8-9 |
| 21 | Elon | 106 | 13-7 |
| 22 | Johns Hopkins | 94 | 11-7 |
| 23 | Stanford | 80 | 12-6 |
| 24 | Albany | 69 | 12-6 |
| 25 | Loyola | 64 | 11-8 |
IWLCA Division II Preseason Poll
Rank |
Team |
Pts (1st) |
2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adelphi | 624 (24) | 21-1 |
| 2 | Florida Southern | 596 (1) | 21-3 |
| 3 | Lindenwood | 566 | 21-2 |
| 4 | Le Moyne | 564 | 19-2 |
| 5 | LIU Post | 514 | 16-3 |
| 6 | Florida Tech | 478 | 14-4 |
| 7 | Queens (N.C.) | 463 | 17-4 |
| 8 | New Haven | 425 | 15-5 |
| 9 | Regis (Colo.) | 404 | 17-3 |
| 10 | East Stroudsberg | 368 | 17-3 |
| 11 | Rollins | 344 | 12-5 |
| 12 | Mercy | 342 | 16-4 |
| 13 | Limestone | 340 | 17-3 |
| 14 | NYIT | 340 | 15-4 |
| 15 | Mercyhurst | 258 | 13-5 |
| 16 | West Chester | 254 | 12-5 |
| 17 | Stonehill | 217 | 12-7 |
| 18 | Pace | 182 | 11-6 |
| 19 | Indiana (Pa.) | 171 | 11-7 |
| 20 | McKendree | 156 | 13-5 |
| 21 | Grand Valley State | 113 | 8-9 |
| 22 | Colorado Mesa | 71 | 13-4 |
| 23 | Lock Haven | 61 | 9-8 |
| 24 | Indianapolis | 54 | 13-5 |
| 25 | Slippery Rock | 44 | 12-6 |
IWLCA Division III Preseason Poll
Rank |
Team |
Pts (1st) |
2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gettysburg | 618 (19) | 21-3 |
| 2 | TCNJ | 605 (6) | 19-2 |
| 3 | Washington and Lee | 559 | 19-2 |
| 4 | Trinity | 533 | 17-5 |
| 5 | Middlebury | 519 | 16-5 |
| 6 | William Smith | 482 | 20-2 |
| 7 | Franklin & Marshall | 472 | 17-5 |
| 8 | York | 452 | 16-4 |
| 9 | Salisbury | 434 | 16-6 |
| 10 | Colby | 397 | 15-4 |
| 11 | Ithaca | 323 | 14-5 |
| 12 | Hamilton | 314 | 12-6 |
| 13 | Messiah | 311 | 16-3 |
| 14 | Catholic | 302 | 14-5 |
| 15 | Brockport | 282 | 16-3 |
| 16 | Cortland | 255 | 14-5 |
| 17 | Mary Washington | 219 | 15-6 |
| 18 | St. John Fisher | 207 | 15-5 |
| 19 | Tufts | 168 | 10-6 |
| 20 | Wesleyan | 167 | 11-6 |
| 21 | Colorado College | 125 | 15-5 |
| 22 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps | 86 | 16-2 |
| 23 | Bowdoin | 62 | 10-6 |
| 24 | Denison | 41 | 15-4 |
| 25 | Stevens | 35 | 13-5 |
