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UCSB Ranked 6th in First Poll of the Season

Feb. 24, 2011

Baltimore, MD - The Gauchos are ranked 6th in the U.S. Lacrosse WCLA Top 20 Poll. The initial national Women's Collegiate Lacrosse Association rankings were released on February 23rd. Undefeated University of Colorado, Boulder (5-0) is in the top spot after receiving 11 of 12 first place votes. The clubs from University of Florida (5-1) and UC Davis (4-1) are ranked 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Santa Clara (5-1) and Lindenwood (2-1) got the 4th and 5th spots ahead of UCSB even though the Gauchos beat Lindenwood 12-10 in their last outing. The Lions had also beaten the Broncos 6-5 on February 18th. Santa Clara (5-1) received the one other first place vote despite their loss to Lindenwood.

• Complete USL WCLA Division One Poll

It matters little come May where any teams are ranked. The #1 seed has only won the national championship once in the ten year history of the event. Western Women's Lacrosse League (WWLL) member Cal Poly SLO won it seven years in a row from 2001 to 2007 but the Mustangs were the #1 seed only once during that run. Different teams won the next three titles from 2008 to 2010 but they were not the #1 seed going into the tournament.

So UCSB beat Lindenwood but got ranked behind them. Lindenwood beat Santa Clara but got ranked behind them. Further down the list even more, Pittsburgh beat UCSB on February 18th but got ranked behind them on February 23rd. The short story is it doesn't matter until what happens on the field in the month of May.

"We will aim at getting better, enjoying what we're doing and playing well," said UCSB head coach Paul Ramsey when asked about the rankings.

Sixth ranked UCSB has upcoming games at 3rd ranked UC Davis on March 5th and at 4th ranked Santa Clara on March 6th. Between now and then the Gauchos have an exhibition game with NCAA DIII St. John Fisher College to help them prepare.