News|Schedule / Results|Roster|Officers &Coaches|

Gauchos Are Ranked Second In Pre-Season Poll

Jan. 4, 2014

Baltimore, MD - U.S. Lacrosse released their WCLA Division One pre-season rankings and UCSB received the second spot. The Gauchos were runners-up in the national championship game last season to Colorado State. The Rams received the top spot. Georgia, Cal Poly SLO and BYU round out the top five. The 2014 WCLA National Championship Tournament will be played May 7-10 at the Princess Anne Athletic Complex and Stadium in Virginia Beach, VA.

UCSB returns 15 players from the team that made a run at the national championship last season, including 8 returning starters. It was 9 returning starters until sophomore Nicole Rockwell (San Jose, CA) suffered an ACL injury during a fall practice. The midfielder will redshirt after successful surgery this past December. It could have been 8 to start except for the return of super senior Megan Hughes (Santa Ana, CA) in goal. Hughes has two years of eligibility after spending two years at Orange Community College, which does not have a lacrosse program.

Eight freshmen and a junior college transfer have joined the UCSB 'A' Team group to create a roster of 24 active players heading into pre-season. The returners and the new group make the Gauchos the deepest they've been in a number of years.

"We looked quite good in the fall and I believe we're eager to get started on the season because everyone has so much fun together," says head coach Paul Ramsey.

WCLA Division I Preseason Top 20
UCSB Regular Season Opponents In Bold

  1. Colorado State
  2. UC Santa Barbara
  3. Georgia
  4. Cal Poly SLO
  5. BYU
  6. Texas
  7. Florida
  8. Pittsburgh
  9. Virginia
10. Colorado
11. Santa Clara
12. USC
13. Minnesota
14. Westminster
15. Ohio State
16. Maryland
17. Michigan
18. Virginia Tech
19. UCLA
20. Penn State