Men's Lacrosse is set to Host the First Round of the NCAA Tournament

TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 14 University of Tampa men's lacrosse team is set to host the No. 10 Wingate University Bulldogs in the first round of the NCAA tournament. This is the sixth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance for the Spartans, dating back to 2014 when Tampa made it to the national semifinals. 

The Matchup: University of Tampa (14-5) vs. Wingate University (13-3) 
Date/Time: Wednesday, May 8^that 8:00 p.m.
Location: Naimoli Family Athletic and Intramural Complex | Tampa, Fla.

Last Time Out: The University of Tampa Spartans defeated the Saint Leo University Lions 13-10 in the SSC Championship game. In the contest, Andrew Kew  had an outstanding four goals followed by Harry Kilkowskiwith three goals and two assists. Bryan Wright and Colin White each earned two goals for the Spartans. Defensively Wright also stated one caused turnover and three ground balls, while senior captain Luke Robideaux also logged three ground balls. Faceoff specialist, Ross Dickerson had an outstanding game, ending the contest 23-26 from the X, and having tallied a team-high of 18 ground balls. Finally, senior Bryan Karn defended the goal for the entire sixty minutes. Karn faced 20 shots and recorded10 saves. 

About the Spartans: Tampa is 14-5 on the 2019 season, and finished regular season SSC Champions. After falling out of the USILA national ranking for the first time since the 2015 season, UT has battled their way back into the national spotlight, and now sits at No. 14 in the most recent coaches poll. The Spartans are led offensively by senior Andrew Kew. Kew has 91 points on the season made up of a team-high of 57 goals and 34 assists. Recently, Kew became the all-time Division II leading goal scorer, and was named the Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year. Senior, and 2019 SSC Honorable Mention, Matt Vetter  is second on the team in points with 67. Vetter has scored 32 goals and has stated 35 assists as well during his senior campaign. Sophomore Colin White is third on the team in points with 59. He has 49 goals and 10 assists on the season. Defensively, Sam Collingwood  has a team-high of 23 caused turnovers on top of his 22 ground balls, while SSC second-team selection and captain, Luke Robideaux , has 14 caused turnovers and 34 ground balls. Junior Ross Dickerson remains one of the best faceoff specialists in the nation. He currently has the third-best face-off winning percentage in all Division II with 75.7%. Dickerson has won 359-474 face-offs from the X and has a team-high of 219 recorded ground balls. Dickerson was named an All-SSC first-team selection.  Finally, at keeper, the Spartans have been primarily using sophomore, B.J. Borowski , or senior Bryan Karn. Borowski has 97 saves on the season and a goals against average of 10.87, while Karn has logged 68 saves and has a goals against average of 11.05. This is the Spartans sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. They have never won the national championship. 

About the Bulldogs: The Bulldogs enter the NCAA tournament with an overall record of 13-3. They finished their 2019 campaign 7-1 in the South Atlantic Conference, losing only once to Catawba College. Offensively, Wingate is led by #40 Bobby Padden and #35 Alex Lierandi. Padden has 54 points this season made up of 27 goals and 27 assists. Lierandi has accumulated 50 points, with 39 goals and 11 assists. Defensively, Wingate's biggest threats are #38 Mike DiLegge and #22 Sean Moran who have team-highs of 22 and 21 caused turnovers respectively. DiLegge also has 25 ground balls this season while Moran has recorded 59. The Bulldogs primary faceoff specialist is #28 Wyatt Weiseman who has a record of 123-187 from the X. Alex Cordero, #55, is Wingate's starting goalkeeper. Cordero has faced 499 shots this season earning 152 saves and a goals against average of 8.32. 

Series History (Men's): The Spartans lead the all-time series over the Bulldogs 2-0. 

Tickets: NCAA Tournament tickets will be available at the gate. Adults will be charged $10 while children under 12 will be admitted for $5. The games are free for UT students when showing a valid student ID.