INDIANAPOLIS – With four programs in the mix this spring season for a league title, it was Tiffin that received the most points to lead off the 2021 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour as released on Friday.
Like many other spring sports in a shortened 2020, women's lacrosse was no exception as the season stopped before the heart of the conference schedule.
And also like most other conference championship offered sports in the league, Ashland University and newly appointed interim head coach Mike Jewell will be part of the Great Midwest for the spring of 2022.
Lake Erie was not included in this year's preseason coaches poll due to unforeseen circumstances within the program. Three of the four teams have played one non-conference matchup at the time of release while the league schedule officially gets underway March 19 with Ursuline going to Findlay.
The conference is still on a quest for the sport's first appearance in the NCAA Championship women's lacrosse bracket, which has been reduced to down to 12 teams (normally 16) this spring. There is also no automatic qualifier for the sport, which leaves all selections in the hands of the national committee during the selection process.
What history has shown, is that any team can win in the Great Midwest in a given year. There have been four different conference champions in as many seasons with Ursuline in 2016, Alderson Broaddus in 2017, Lake Erie in 2018 and Findlay in 2019.
Could 2021 be the year of the Dragons? The coaches handed Tiffin a pair of first-place votes and eight total points in the balloting to lead all programs. Head coach Erica Brown has one of Division II's most talented position players with senior mid Elle Hamilton, the 2019 Great Midwest Player of the Year.
But Walsh and Findlay also received one first-place vote which could lead you to believe the race is still going to be wide open. As teams adhere to testing protocols and navigate around the unknowns of spring weather, it will be interesting to see who rises to the top in early May during the conference tournament.
The Cavaliers have already claimed the first offensive player of the week award and the attack is led by former conference freshman of the year Hannah McFeeters. Findlay was selected third by just one point and the Oilers are scheduled to debut this weekend against UIndy in a big regional showdown. Ursuline is also going to factor into the regular season race with head coach Lauren Simko plenty familiar with each of the teams in the league as the former leader at UF.
All four teams will be in the conference postseason and the two games will be conducted at the top seed site as host.
2021 Great Midwest Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
| School |
Points |
| 1. Tiffin (2 first-place votes) |
8 |
| 2. Walsh (1 first-place vote) |
7 |
| 3. Findlay (1 first-place vote) |
6 |
| 4. Ursuline |
3 |