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UCSB Ranked 7th in Pre-Season Poll

Jan. 1, 2012

Baltimore, MD - Pre-season rankings by Lacrosse Magazine were released on December 29th for all associations and divisions of collegiate lacrosse. The Gauchos are ranked 7th in the 20 team U.S. Lacrosse Women's Collegiate Lacrosse  Associates (WCLA) Division One poll. Colorado State, two-time defending national champions, were selected as the top team. Six WWLL teams are ranked in the National Division One Top 20 and 4 WWLL Division Two teams are ranked in the Top 20 of their national poll.

The pre-season poll generally mirrors the finish of teams from the season before but, interestingly, the Gauchos were picked 7th despite advancing to the national semifinals last year. UCSB upset the club from the University of Florida 12-11 in overtime in the national quarterfinals. UCSB finished higher in the post-season than three teams deemed fitter by the pollsters for higher pre-season spots. UC Davis, Colorado and Florida were all eliminated in the quarterfinals while the Gauchos advanced. UC Davis and Colorado are ranked 2nd and 3rd, respectively, while Florida is 6th. The only loss for UCSB in the regular bracket at the tournament was a 7-10 loss to eventual national champion Colorado State.

The Gauchos have 8 pre-season ranked teams on their schedule and 6 of them are in the Top 10. It's a schedule strong enough for a solid strength of scheduling rating at the end of the season. UCSB returns ten starters but the two players who have graduated leave open important roles that need to be filled. First Team All-American attacker Ashley Antoon-Algieri (San Ramon, CA) and left-handed midfield Alyssa Nelsen (Denver, CO) graduated.

The cupboard is not bare for UCSB, however. The Gauchos have four returning All-Americans.  They are senior attacker Maegan Cruse (San Diego, CA), senior goalie Jeni Centner (Tustin, CA), junior midfielder Katie Mitchell (Lafayette, CA) and junior defender Emilia Norlin (Mill Valley, CA).

U.S. Lacrosse WCLA Division I Pre-Season Poll *

 1. Colorado State
 2. UC Davis
 3. Colorado
 4. Santa Clara
 5. UCLA
 6. Florida Club
 7. UC Santa Barbara
 8. Cal Poly SLO
 9. Michigan
10. Brigham Young
11. Georgia
12. Texas
13. Maryland Club
14. Pittsburgh
15. Virginia Tech Club
16. Boston College Club
17. Virginia Club
18. Washington
19. Arizona State
20. Central Florida

Preseason Player of the Year: Clayton Crum, University of Texas

* Teams in bold are on the UCSB regular season schedule.

For a complete listing of all pre-season polls please visit Lacrosse Magazine On-Line.