The Florida lacrosse team, coming off convincing wins over then-No. 9 Georgetown and Temple, became the fastest-rising program to reach the top-10 since the IWLCA poll’s inception in 1988. The Gators were ranked No. 8 by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association on Monday afternoon. It took the Gators only 13 months (17 polls) to reach the top-10.
Lacrosse powerhouses that were created after the poll took longer to be rated as one of the top-10 teams in the country. The next closest team was the North Carolina Tar Heels, whose team was formed in 1996. They reached the top-10 on March 30th, 1997. Syracuse’s women’s lacrosse team was formed in 1998 and they reached the top-10 on May 8th, 2000. Vanderbilt, who is a co-member of the American Lacrosse Conference, began their team in 1998 and reached the top-10 in 2002.
Florida is led by sophomore midfielder Kitty Cullen (Rockville, Md.), who leads the nation in both goals overall and goals per game, while ranking seventh in points overall. The Gators are sixth in the NCAA in scoring margin, and eighth in both points and scoring offense. Sophomore goalkeeper Mikey Meagher (Liverpool, N.Y.) ranks 10th in the country in GA avg. after having stellar performances against the Hoyas and the Owls.
The Gators take on the Colgate Raiders on Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. under the lights of Dizney Stadium. Florida is looking to avenge its 11-12 overtime loss against Colgate last spring. The Gators will then look to take on No. 11 Syracuse on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Saturday’s matchup will air live on Sun Sports.
The Maryland Terrapins and the Northwestern Wildcats both collected all 20 first-place and 20 second-place votes for a third consecutive week as the two schools remain 1-2 in the polls. The same 20 teams remain in the polls from last week, including Florida, who was the week’s fastest riser. The second-year Gators jumped from No. 14 to round out the top-10 at No. 10.
The ACC continues to lead all conferences with five schools, led by No. 1 Maryland. Duke holds at No. 3 and UNC remains at No. 5, while Virginia fell to No. 8 Boston College dropped to No. 20.
The Big East claims four schools, starting with Loyola, who leads the conference in the top-10 at No. 6. Syracuse moved up to start off the second half of the poll at No. 11, while Georgetown sits just ahead of Notre Dame at No. 13.
The American Lacrosse Conference and the Ivy Group are both represented by three schools. The ALC has two in the top-10, including Northwestern at No. 2 and Florida, the newcomer to the top half of the poll at No. 10. Vanderbilt moved up one spot to No. 12. The Ivy Group leads off with No. 4 Penn and is followed by No. 15 Princeton, up two from last week, and No. 17 Dartmouth.
The CAA has two schools, with James Madison moving up to No. 9 and William & Mary, who also rose, going up to No. 16.
Stanford from the MPSF continues to rise in the polls, going to No. 7. Albany from the America East moved up to No. 17, while Massachusetts from the Atlantic 10 jumped up one to No. 19.
On Wednesday, March 16, there are two ranked games in the Commonwealth of Virginia as the No. 9 Dukes host No. 15 Princeton and the No. 8 Cavaliers welcome the No. 16 Tribe. On Saturday, March 19, 14 ranked teams face off against each other, including the No. 2 Wildcats’ hosting the No. 16 Tribe in Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas. Also that day, the No. 3 Blue Devils welcome No. 18 Dartmouth while just up the road, the No. 5 Tar Heels host the No. 13 Hoyas. No. 6 Loyola hosts No. 9 James Madison, and No. 8 Virginia welcomes No. 15 Princeton. The No. 10 Gators play No. 11 Syracuse while the No. 17 Great Danes travel to face No. 19 Massachusetts. The week closes out as No. 1 Maryland travels to face ACC rival and 20th-ranked Boston College on Sunday.
The next weekly poll will be released on March 21.
