Two-Time Champ Georgian Court Right Back at the Top in 2019 CACC Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (February 7, 2019) -- Two-time defending conference champion Georgian Court University on Thursday found itself in the top spot of the 2019 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced by Commissioner Dan Mara. The Lions earned 100 points in the voting and all 10 first-place votes. The voting for the poll was conducted the league's 10 head coaches in the sport.
Rounding out the top three were Chestnut Hill College and Jefferson, as the duo tied for second with 85 points. The Griffins and Rams met up in last season's CACC semifinals, with CHC scoring the victory to reach the finals where it fell to GCU.
Georgian Court returns several letterwinners from its last two championship teams, including senior Samantha Fernandez, who has claimed two-consecutive CACC Player-of-the-Year awards (2017-18). The Lions went 13-6 overall last season and a perfect 9-0 mark in conference play. GCU has posted perfect 9-0 league records each of the last two seasons and has won 21-straight regular season conference games dating back to the 2016 campaign.
Chestnut Hill has proven to be one of the top programs in the league over the last several years, as the Griffins have advanced to two of the last three CACC Championship Finals (2016 & 2018).
Jefferson has also been one of the stalwarts of the league, as the Rams have reached six CACC finals dating back to 2009. Jefferson's setback to Chestnut Hill in last year's semis denied the program a third-consecutive trip to the league final (including the program's last CACC title in 2016).
The 2019 regular season gets underway on Sunday, Feb. 17, with Wilmington University in action, while other schools get going the following days after that. The regular season will be a buildup to the 2019 CACC Women's Lacrosse Championship, which will be held April 30, May 3-4, with the semifinals and finals being staged at Georgian Court in Lakewood, N.J. The women's lacrosse championship will be part of the 2019 CACC Spring Championship Festival, which will be held May 2-5, at Georgian Court, and will feature four other championship tournaments, incuding men's lacrosse, softball, men's outdoor track & field and women's outdoor track & field.
2019 CACC WOMEN'S LACROSSE PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. Georgian Court University 100 (10)
T2. Chestnut Hill College 85
T2. Jefferson 85
4. Caldwell University 65
5. Wilmington University 58
6. Dominican College 53
7. Holy Family University 36
8. Nyack College 30
9. Post University 27
10. Felician University 10
() - First-Place Votes
ABOUT THE CACC
The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference composed of 14 institutions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The member institutions are Bloomfield College, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Concordia (N.Y.) College, Dominican (N.Y.) College, Felician University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Jefferson (Philadelphia University + Thomas Jefferson University), Nyack College, Post University of Waterbury, University of the Sciences, and Wilmington University.