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UCSB Fourth In Lacrosse Magazine Pre-Season Rankings

Dec. 21, 2012

Baltimore, MD - The Gauchos are ranked fourth in the Lacrosse Magazine Women's Collegiate Lacrosse Associates (WCLA) Division One pre-season poll for the 2013 season. Colorado State earned the top spot while the clubs from UC Davis and Florida rounded out the Top Three. Lacrosse Magazine also named Colorado State midfielder Hayley Bernstein as its preseason player of the year for WCLA Division One.

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UCSB returns four starters from the 2012 season. The Gauchos lost eight starters from a team that was 16-4 overall and won the Western Women's Lacrosse League (WWLL) tournament championship. The UCSB season ended in a 10-9 Overtime loss in the national quarterfinals to eventual national champion UC Davis.

The Gauchos return just one starting defender from last season, two midfielders and one attacker. Yet the pollsters still placed them high, perhaps knowing some inside information. The UCSB 'B' Team won the WWLL B Division Championship and six starters from that team have moved up to the Gaucho A-Side. This boosts the number to ten returning starters from two championship UCSB teams. Numerous reserves from 2012 also established themselves during the fall season, taking advantage of the spots left open by graduation. In addition, a host of freshmen have joined the UCSB squad. An all-time high of seven first year players have made the 'A' Team. It's the most first years to achieve the placement on the UCSB 'A' Team in the last six years.

Gauchos Are You Tough Enough?

All of the above players will be needed in top form early as UCSB faces the Top Three in the Nation the first three weeks of the season and three more teams from the Top Ten in that same period. The Gauchos play at defending national champion UC Davis on February 9th and then face top ranked Colorado State and third ranked Florida on the first day of  the Santa Barbara Shootout February 16th. Prior to the Shootout the Gauchos host 8th ranked BYU on February 14th. Tough enough?  UCSB follows all that up on Sunday of the Shootout with sixth ranked Michigan.

Lacrosse Magazine's complete rankings as follows, UCSB regular season opponents in bold and dates the Gauchos face these top teams in parentheses:

WCLA Division One Preseason Top 20

  1. Colorado State (2/16/13)
  2. UC Davis (2/9/13)
  3. Florida (2/16/13)
  4. UC Santa Barbara
  5. Michigan (2/17/13)
  6. Santa Clara
  7. Colorado (3/8/13)
  8. Brigham Young (2/14/13)
  9. Georgia
10. Texas (4/7/13)
11. UCLA (2/23/13)
12. Central Florida
13. Pittsburgh
14. Cal Poly SLO (3/15/13)
15. Penn State
16. Maryland
17. Virginia
18. Connecticut
19. Minnesota
20. Miami (Ohio)

Preseason Player of the Year
Hayley Bernstein, Colorado State, Sr. M