INDIANAPOLIS – Separated by only a four-point margin, Findlay emerged as the top contender in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour that was released on Monday.
The coaches view the Oilers as the top target in the league this spring after UF received 46 total points and four first-place votes in the balloting.
After finishing 15-4 overall in 2018, Findlay was second in the regular-season standings and also closed out its first year in the league as the conference tournament runner-up.
Eight teams are now in the mix for the postseason, including new conference first-year member Tiffin. The Dragons went 11-7 and were 8-4 in the GLIAC in 2018, a campaign that included one-point victories over both Findlay and Lake Erie.
Tiffin received three first-place votes in its first Great Midwest poll for a total of 42 points behind only Findlay.
Defending conference champion Lake Erie carries a 16-game win streak into this spring and the Storm start 2019 ranked third by the league’s coaches.
LEC swept all of the major individual awards for all-conference recognition and narrowly missed out on a bid to the NCAA Championship field. The Storm received the other first-place vote in this year's balloting.
Lake Erie’s only checks in the loss column were against Slippery Rock and Tiffin – the first two games of the regular season. The Storm perfected an unbeaten regular-season run in the conference standings at 12-0 under head coach Mallory Ferrandiz.
Also making the four-team conference championship bracket last season was Walsh, picked fourth, and Ursuline, starting in fifth. Alderson Broaddus, Davis & Elkins and Ohio Valley, in order, rounded out the preseason coaches poll, respectively.
Two Great Midwest teams are ranked in the International Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) preseason Top 25, including No. 24 Lake Erie and t-No.25 Tiffin.
This will be the fourth year of women’s lacrosse in conference history. Other league tournament champions in the archives include Ursuline (2016) and Alderson Broaddus (2017).
Great Midwest Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
| School |
Points |
| 1. Findlay (4 first-place votes) |
46 |
| 2. Tiffin (3 first-place votes) |
42 |
| 3. Lake Erie (1 first-place vote) |
40 |
| 4. Walsh |
31 |
| 5. Ursuline |
26 |
| 6. Alderson Broaddus |
19 |
| 7. Davis & Elkins |
11 |
| 8. Ohio Valley |
9 |