Women’s Lacrosse : Women’s Lacrosse Fourth in IWLCA Preseason Poll

The Gettysburg College women’s lacrosse team maintained its hold on a top-five billing in the national polls as the Bullets were picked fourth in the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division III Coaches Preseason Poll released on Monday, Jan. 27.
 
Gettysburg has been ranked among the top five teams in every IWLCA poll since the start of the 2018 season. The Bullets finished 20 points ahead of fifth-ranked Wesleyan (Conn.) University, the team that knocked off the two-time defending champs in the NCAA quarterfinals last spring.
 
Defending national champion Middlebury College seized all 25 first-place votes to earn the top spot, ending Gettysburg’s two-year run atop the preseason ballot. Tufts University finished just ahead of Salisbury University for the runner-up position.
 
York (Pa.) College, Franklin & Marshall College, Washington and Lee University, Amherst College, and Catholic University rounded out the top 10.
 
Head Coach Carol Cantele enters her 28th season at Gettysburg’s helm. Cantele, who was named Division III Coach of the Year for the fourth time in 2018, is 418-109 (.793) with the Bullets and has led the team to three national championships, 12 conference titles, and 19 NCAA appearances. She is also one of just four NCAA coaches to eclipse 400 career wins and owns a mark of 442-132 (.770) over 31 seasons.
 
Gettysburg will not shy away from the competition in 2020, squaring off with seven ranked teams, including No. 22 Denison University (Feb. 29), No. 8 Washington and Lee (March 8), No. 3 Salisbury (March 11), No. 2 Tufts (March 14), No. 6 York (March 18), No. 13 TCNJ (March 24), and No. 7 Franklin & Marshall (April 1).
 
Gettysburg opens the regular season on the road against Messiah College on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 4 p.m.
 

This story was originally posted on the Gettysburg College Website.