The Florida Gators lacrosse team, despite having the past week off, has entered the top-two of the IWLCA poll for the first time in program history, the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) announced on Monday. Florida rose to the No. 2 spot, the highest rank for a second-year program in poll history. The Gators’ ascension to the No. 2 spot is one better than the No. 3 rank achieved by the North Carolina Tar Heels on April 7, 1997.
Tewaaraton nominee Kitty Cullen (Rockville, Md.) leads the nation in goals per game with 4.47 and has 73 points so far this season. She has 17 free position goals on the year and owns a .568 shooting percentage. Florida is ranked third in the nation in win percentage (.933), sixth in scoring defense (8.2), seventh in scoring margin (6.2) and ninth in scoring offense (14.4). Individually, sophomore goalkeeper Mikey Meagher (Liverpool, N.Y.) is fifth in the country in goals-against average with 7.77 and 19th in save percentage (.468). Additionally, Cullen ranks second in goals overall (67), third in points per game (4.87) and sixth in points overall (73). 2010 National Rookie of the Year Ashley Bruns (Ellicott City, Md.) is having a stellar sophomore campaign, ranking 18th in points overall (61) and 20th in points per game (4.07).
The Gators went undefeated at home (11-0) and in the ALC (5-0) en route to their first ALC regular season title. Florida travels to Ithaca, N.Y. to face Cornell on Sunday, May 1st for their regular season finale. The ALC Tournament follows soon after from May 5th-7th, where the Gators hold the No. 1 seed after clinching with their upset over then-No. 2 Northwestern.
The American Lacrosse Conference continued its history-making run as all six schools in the conference were ranked for a second consecutive week. The ALC has two of the six schools in the top-10, with Florida leading the way at No. 2 and Northwestern holding at No. 5. Penn State (No. 13) and Vanderbilt (No. 17) both remain the same from last week, while Ohio State rises to No. 19 and Johns Hopkins moves to No. 20.
The ACC has four of its five schools in the top-10, starting with top-ranked Maryland. North Carolina rises to No. 3 while Duke drops to No. 4. Boston College moves into the top-10 at No. 9 while Virginia falls out of the top-10, dropping to No. 11.
Both the Ivy Group and the Big East are represented by three schools. Loyola from the Big East moves to No. 7, with Georgetown remaining at No. 16 and Syracuse moving to no. 18. Penn, from the Ivy Group, leads that conference at No. 10, with Dartmouth (No. 14) and Princeton (No. 15) holding steady from last week.
Stanford from the MPSF rises to No. 6; Albany from the America East also moves up one notch to land at No. 8. James Madison from the CAA holds at No. 12.
On Wednesday, No. 11 Virginia travels to No. 12 James Madison in a rescheduled game; the two teams had met previously but the game was cancelled due to inclement weather. On Thursday, the top-ranked Terrapins travel down the road to face No. 16 Georgetown. On Friday, a key Big East matchup takes place as No. 7 Loyola welcomes No. 18 Syracuse while No. 10 Penn hosts No. 4 Duke on Friday night as well. On Saturday, the No. 11 Cavaliers welcome the No. 5 Wildcats and No. 13 Penn State travels to face No. 15 Princeton. A key ALC contest is underway on Saturday as well with the No. 18 Buckeyes hosting No. 20 Johns Hopkins. The first day of May, Sunday, brings a game in Hanover as No. 14 Dartmouth hosts the No. 1 Terrapins.
The next weekly poll will be released on May 2nd.
IWLCA Division I Week 9 Poll (25 Apr 2011)
| | Record | Previous | Votes |
| 1. Maryland (20) | 17-0 | 1 | 400 |
| 2. FLORIDA | 14-1 | 3 | 368 |
| 3. North Carolina | 12-5 | 4 | 355 |
| 4. Duke | 13-3 | 2 | 339 |
| 5. Northwestern | 14-2 | 5 | 328 |
| 6. Stanford | 14-2 | 7 | 290 |
| 7. Loyola | 13-1 | 6 | 284 |
| 8. Albany | 14-0 | 9 | 262 |
| 9. Boston College | 11-6 | 11 | 209 |
| 10. Pennsylvania | 10-4 | 8 | 208 |
| 11. Virginia | 9-6 | 10 | 189 |
| 12. James Madison | 12-3 | 12 | 164 |
| 13. Penn State | 9-6 | 13 | 159 |
| 14. Dartmouth | 9-3 | 14 | 145 |
| 15. Princeton | 7-6 | 15 | 116 |
| 16. Georgetown | 8-6 | 16 | 112 |
| 17. Vanderbilt | 8-7 | 17 | 82 |
| 18. Syracuse | 7-7 | 19 | 52 |
| 19. Ohio State | 8-6 | 20 | 45 |
| 20. Johns Hopkins | 9-6 | 18 | 43 |
Also receiving votes: Harvard, Notre Dame
