Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. Who’s No. 1? Dissenting opinions among lacrosse media and coaches left that question somewhat unanswered Monday.
While defending NCAA champion Yale regained pole position in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20, it was Penn State that garnered the top spot in the Inside Lacrosse media and USILA coaches polls. Even there, voters were divided, with Cornell, Duke, Penn State and Yale all receiving first-place votes.
Yale defeated Penn State 14-13 on Feb. 23. Penn State defeated Cornell 19-13 last Friday. Yale hosts Cornell on Saturday.
New teams were slotted at No. 1 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division II and Division III rankings —with Adelphi and Salisbury taking over for defending NCAA champions Merrimack and Wesleyan, respectively. Both of those teams lost over the weekend. LIU Post defeated Merrimack in overtime, a game featuring future Division I and Northeast Conference foes, while Bates, which made headlines as a No. 1-ranked team two years ago, returned to the national conversation with a win over Wesleyan.
2. Boston College fortified its place at No. 1 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20 with wins over nationally ranked Navy and Northwestern last week. The top 13 teams held serve, despite several close calls.
Fresh off its first-ever win over a top-10 opponent, Assumption went from unranked to No. 12 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division II Women’s Top 20.
Colby, Franklin and Marshall and Amherst all made major strides in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division III Women’s Top 20, representing three of the top six teams in this week’s rankings.
3. Penn State’s Grant Ament piled up 17 assists during a weekend sweep of Cornell and Jacksonville at the Crown Lacrosse Classic and is up to 46 on the season, already a Nittany Lions record. Ament was named the Warrior/US Lacrosse Player of the Week for his performance.
4. Duke’s Charlotte North has shown no signs of a sophomore slump. In fact, the Texas native is only getting better, earning Brine/US Lacrosse Player of the Week honors on the heels of a seven-goal performance against Louisville that incuded the game-tying goal and the double-overtime winner.