SEASON PREVIEW: Tampa Ranked Third in SSC Preseason Coaches Poll

MELBOURNE, Fla. – Sunshine State Conference women's lacrosse coaches place Florida Southern College and Rollins College in a tie atop the preseason ranking. Both squads pulled in 45 points, but FSC edged Rollins by one first-place vote. The Moccasins are expected to repeat as regular-season champions for the seventh year in a row, while the Tars are looking to repeat for a third straight season.

The University of Tampa gathered 39 points and the final first-place vote to settle into third place. Saint Leo University sits squarely in fourth following 29 points, while Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is fifth with 26 points. Florida Tech (14 points), Palm Beach Atlantic University (14 points), and Lynn University (12 points) round out this year's preseason ranking.

SSC teams played between seven and 10 games in 2021 in another shortened season due to the Coronavirus. Florida Southern, Rollins, and Tampa each finished the season at 5-1 (.833) in conference play to share the SSC regular-season title. The same three squads also tied for the regular-season title in 2019, while no regular-season trophy was awarded in 2020.

Tampa stands as the defending SSC tournament champion, winning the last conference postseason tournament, which took place in 2019. That season was also the most recent where SSC teams saw NCAA postseason action. FSC, Rollins, and Tampa earned a bid to the 2019 NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse 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 2022 season begins on Friday, February 4th, with Palm Beach Atlantic hosting Young Harris. Conference play starts on Saturday, April 2nd, with all eight teams in action.

Tampa led by 10th year Head Coach Kelly Gallagher, is preparing for another season after coming off of a 7-3 season last year. 

The season is looking bright, UT will start off their season with a home opener Sunday, February 13th against Alabama-Huntsville.

Below are the full results of the 2022 SSC preseason coaches' poll. Coaches may not vote for their teams (points: 7-6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses).

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