Gators Finish Season in Top-5 of Final IWLCA Poll
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 | Lacrosse
The Florida lacrosse team ended the 2011 season at No. 5 in the final IWLCA poll, released on Tuesday afternoon. The Gators make history once again as their No. 5 end-of-season ranking is the highest by a second-year program in IWLCA poll history. The Orange and Blue went 16-4 in their second year, going undefeated in the ALC regular season and reaching the NCAA Quarterfinals.
The Northwestern Wildcats ascended to the top of the IWLCA poll after winning the 2011 national championship, taking the top spot for the first time this season. The ALC champions have now been the top-ranked team in each of the last seven seasons. Sixteen of the 20 teams ranked in the preseason poll are found in the final poll of the season; the four that were not include Albany (No. 8), Ohio State (No. 16), Massachusetts (No. 19), and Harvard (No. 20).
The Atlantic Coast Conference leads all conferences with five schools, including a block of three in the top four, led by Maryland at No. 2. North Carolina follows at No. 3 with Duke at No. 4. Boston College sits at No. 13 while Virginia sits at No. 14.
The American Lacrosse Conference is led by top-ranked Northwestern; Florida remains in the top-five at No. 5. Penn State edges out Ohio State at No. 15 after the two were tied at No. 15 in the final regular season poll.
The Ivy Group also has four schools in the final poll, starting with No. 9 Princeton, the Ivy tournament champions. Penn sits right behind the Tigers at No. 10, while Dartmouth finishes at No. 12 and Harvard sits at No. 20.
The Big East's three schools are led by No. 6 Loyola; Syracuse (No. 17) and Georgetown (No. 18) both hold steady from the last regular season poll.
Stanford, the MPSF champion, sits at No. 7 while the America East champion Albany Great Danes holds at No. 8. Massachusetts from the Atlantic-10 remains No. 19.
This is the final IWLCA poll of the 2011 season.
| Rank | School | 2011 Record | Total Votes (First Place) | Previous Rank |
| 1 | Northwestern | 21-2 | 399 (19) | 2 |
| 2 | Maryland | 21-2 | 381 (1) | 1 |
| 3 | North Carolina | 15-6 | 360 | 3 |
| 4 | Duke | 15-5 | 340 | 5 |
| 5 | FLORIDA | 16-4 | 319 | 4 |
| 6 | Loyola | 17-3 | 293 | 6 |
| 7 | Stanford | 16-3 | 252 | 7 |
| 8 | Albany | 18-1 | 246 | 8 |
| 9 | Princeton | 12-7 | 224 | 12 |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | 11-6 | 221 | 9 |
| 11 | James Madison | 15-4 | 201 | 10 |
| 12 | Dartmouth | 11-5 | 180 | 11 |
| 13 | Boston College | 12-7 | 177 | 13 |
| 14 | Virginia | 9-9 | 130 | 14 |
| 15 | Penn State | 10-8 | 96 | 15t |
| 16 | Ohio State | 10-7 | 81 | 15t |
| 17 | Syracuse | 10-8 | 80 | 17 |
| 18 | Georgetown | 9-8 | 70 | 18 |
| 19 | Massachusetts | 17-2 | 59 | 19 |
| 20 | Harvard | 10-6 | 49 | 20 |
| Also receiving votes: Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame, Towson, Vanderbilt | ||||
