WCLA Notebook: Big Dawgs Gather in the South

Three members of the Southeastern Women's Lacrosse League — Georgia, Florida Club and Florida State Club — enjoyed strong weekend showings at the inaugural Big Dawgs Classic in Georgia last weekend. All three teams were ranked among the top 13 squads in the WCLA’s Preseason Top 20 and lived up to the billing.

The first WCLA Top 20 ranking update of the 2024 season is expected to be released on February 28.

The Big Dawgs Classic, hosted by Georgia, featured 11 teams and 19 games over two days of competition.

“We have gone to some of the same events for the last few years and wanted to change things up this year,” Georgia’s senior captain and club president Katelyn Sparks said. “We were glad to be able to put this event together and bring some teams to the Southeast. We hope that this event will get even larger, with anywhere from 16-20 teams in future years.”

Georgia, the national runner-up in 2022 and 2023, posted a 4-0 record on the weekend, with victories over Texas, Auburn, Virginia Tech Club and Virginia Club. The Bulldogs’ win over Virginia was especially notable, as the Cavaliers were coming off an impressive 3-0 showing at the Santa Barbara Shootout one week earlier.

“Some people may be doubting us this year because our goalie, Delaney Ott, has graduated, but we bring back a veteran team and have a solid roster of 25 players,” Sparks said. “Our defense was very strong all weekend and our new goalie, Madalyn Kreher, was phenomenal.”

Florida also beat Virginia, while adding strong wins against Notre Dame Club and North Carolina State. The Gators, ranked 13th in the preseason, improved to 6-0.

Florida State defeated Virginia Tech, Texas and NC State to start its 2024 campaign with a 3-0 record. The Seminoles are back in action Saturday at Central Florida before a showdown with two-time defending champion Boston College Club on February 23.

In Division II, three teams from the Western Women’s Lacrosse League have been the quick starters in the early weeks of the season. Cal Poly, unranked in the preseason Top 20, has jumped to a 5-0 start after adding wins against UC Santa Cruz and Stanford Club last weekend. Another unranked squad, Concordia, is off to a 4-0 start, along with No. 6 CSU San Marcos, which registered wins over UC Irvine and San Diego last weekend.

The marquee event on this week’s Division I schedule is the Golden State Invitational in Los Angeles, which kicks off Friday and concludes Sunday. Six of the seven participating teams were ranked in the preseason Top 20, including No. 3 Michigan Club, No. 7 San Diego State Club, No. 8 UCLA and No. 14 Arizona State Club.