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Vanderbilt Lacrosse Ranked 16th in Nation 2-12-04 2/12/2004 Commodores Tabbed Third in American Lacrosse Conference NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Vanderbilt women’s lacrosse team finds itself at No. 16 in a national pre-season poll released Thursday by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association. The seven-member American Lacrosse Conference also released its pre-season poll today, with the league’s coaches tabbing the Commodores for a third-place finish behind 2003 regular-season co-champions Ohio State and Penn State. In the IWLCA poll, defending champion Princeton received 296 out of a possible 300 votes to place first. Virginia, Maryland, Duke and Loyola follow the Tigers, with Georgetown, Dartmouth, James Madison, Ohio State and Penn State rounding out the top 10. The Commodores rank third out of the ALC teams, with Johns Hopkins at No. 20 rounding out the league’s ranked teams. Conference members Ohio University and Northwestern both received votes in the poll. “This poll is what it is: a pre-season poll,” Vanderbilt Head Coach Cathy Swezey said. “It’s not based on 2004 play. We’re not going to focus on rankings — we’re going to take each game as we go.” The Commodores received one first-place vote in the American Lacrosse Conference pre-season poll and placed third behind the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions. For the first year, the ALC’s 2004 regular-season champion will automatically qualify for the NCAA Tournament. “I’m very excited about another great year for the ALC,” Swezey said. “With as many ranked teams as we have, I anticipate that the competition for our automatic bid will be fierce.” The Commodores open their 2004 season on Sunday, Feb. 22, when second-ranked Virginia visits the Vanderbilt Lacrosse Complex at Noon CT. Vanderbilt travels to North Carolina this weekend to take part in the South of the Border exhibition tournament, hosted by UNC and Duke. 2004 Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association American Lacrosse Conference |
