via MCLA press release

D-II Poll: No Doubting St. Thomas

ATLANTA – After rolling to a pair of Top 10 wins this weekend in Denver, St. Thomas is comfortably atop the first weekly edition of the New Balance MCLA Division II Coaches Poll.

The Tommies hauled in 17 of the first-place votes to sit 56 points clear of the closest competition, which is Kennesaw State.

The Owls held off Montana, which sits in third. The Grizzlies lost to St. Thomas, but hung 17 goals on Minn.-Duluth in Denver to rocket up the polls.

Dayton is at No. 4 bolstered by a first-place vote while fellow Upper Midwest Lacrosse Conference (UMLC) rival Grand Valley State is at No. 5, strengthened by a pair of first-place votes.

Rhode Island was a big mover this week, aided by two first-place votes. The Rams were slotted No. 13 in the preseason poll, but after rolling to a 3-0 record at the Battle by the Bay, sit at No. 7 in week one.

Florida Gulf Coast, another beneficiary of a 3-0 weekend in Foley, Ala., cracked the Top 10.

Utah, which has returned to the MCLA in Division II, enters the poll this week at No. 19

New Balance MCLA Division II Weekly Coaches Poll – Week 1

RANK TEAM POINTS 1st VOTES
1. St. Thomas 530 17
2. Kennesaw State 474
3. Montana 457
4. Dayton 448 1
5. Grand Valley State 426 2
6. Minn.-Duluth 400
7. Rhode Island 368 2
8. North Dakota State 365
9. College of Idaho 359
10. Florida Gulf Coast 311
11. Montana State 300
12. St. John’s 294
13. Florida Atlantic 265
14. Northern Arizona 243
15. UC Davis 228
16. Utah State 198
17. Missouri State 191
18. Loyola Marymount 182
19. Utah 125
20. Bridgewater State 120
21. UC San Diego 95
22. UNC-Charlotte 92
23. Cal State San Marcos 90
24. MSU Denver 82
25. Wake Forest 70

Also receiving votes: Coastal Carolina (43), Central Conn. State (43), Northwest Nazarene (40), Baylor (39), North Florida (38), Rice (31), San Diego (29), Sierra Nevada (29), UT-San Antonio (24), North Texas (22), Claremont (13), Saint Mary’s (12), Miami (12), Elon (9), Maine (9), Georgia Southern (9), Western Oregon (9), Air Force Academy (6), UNC-Wilmington (5), UC Irvine (3), UC Santa Cruz (3), Wyoming (2), Stonehill (2), Tulane (2), Western Washington (2), Washington-Mo. (1).