Tampa Picked to Win the 2020 SSC Women's Lacrosse Title

MELBOURNE, Fla.– Sunshine State Conference women's lacrosse coaches vote the University of Tampa as the league's top squad heading into the 2020 season. With 48 points and six first-place votes in the poll, the Spartans are expected to repeat as regular-season champions.

Rollins College and Florida Southern College both received a first-place nod in the ranking. However, the Tars edged the Moccasins for second place, 41 to 40 points, respectively. Saint Leo University holds fourth place with 31 points, while Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University sits in fifth place following 25 points from conference coaches. Florida Tech (15 points), Lynn University (14 points), and Palm Beach Atlantic University (9 points) rank 6-7-8 in this year's poll. 

Florida Southern, Rollins, and Tampa all finished 2019 with a 5-1 league record and a share of the 2019 SSC regular-season championship. Tampa went on to win the 2019 SSC Tournament, a first in program history, besting Rollins in the semifinals and FSC in the championship final. All three teams earned a bid to the NCAA tournament, where Tampa fell to Queens University, and Rollins defeated FSC in the first round. The Tars season came to an end in the national semifinals following an overtime loss to Queens.

The Spartans will be returning a pair of Americans from last year's SSC Championship season. Claire Swanson earned First-Team IWLCA honors last season, as she ended the season with 144 draw controls, which ranked fifth in the nation. She would also score 46 goals, pick up 41 groundballs, and cause 26 turnovers. Swanson was also named Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year. Also returning for Tampa is Carly Vaccaro, who earned IWLCA Third-Team All-America. Vaccaro led the way for Tampa with 58 goals last season, while also adding 15 assists, 14 groundballs, and eight caused turnovers. She was named First-Team All-SSC and was named the Most Outstanding Player for the tournament as she netted the game-winning goal against Florida Southern in the championship game. 

The Spartans will open up the 2020 season on February 7, as they welcome in the University of Alabama in Huntsville Chargers to Naimoli Stadium. Conference play starts on March 23 for UT as they face the Lynn University Fighting Knights. The NCAA Division II postseason begins with regional play on May 7th at non-predetermined sites and concludes at the Spring Festival on May 16th at Harlen C. Hunter Stadium in Saint Charles, Missouri. The NCAA will announce championship selections and seeding on Sunday, May 3rd, here.

SSC Women's Lacrosse History: National Champions | Conference Champions | All-SSC Teams | All-Americans