Tampa looked ready to defend the Sunshine State Conference Championship when we saw them at last week’s Lax Vs. Cancer event.   Of the three SSC teams they appeared to be the furthest along.  While no teams is ready for the conference opener when they play fall ball, Tampa had the appearance of a team that had most of the pieces in place and made the fewest mental mistakes of SSC teams we saw on Sunday. We spoke with Coach Whipple following the event and asked him his opinion of his  team.  He sounded pretty upbeat.  “We’ve had the opportunity to play a couple of times this fall and I’m happy with where we are at right now.” The Spartans should be happy.  They return an entire starting attack unit that led Tampa through an undefeated SSC season in 2015 and a Conference Championship.  The Spartan’s offense averaged nearly 12 goals per game during conference play last season and even with Chris Vetter missing the event with an injury the attack unit showed they are still more than capable of lighting in up.  Filling in for Vetter were a pair of newcomers, Andrew Kew from The Hill Academy and Jordan LeFranc, a transfer from St. John’s. Kew was the leading scorer in Junior A Box lacrosse last season and Coach Whipple will certainly want to find a way to fit him into the offense this season. A pair of seniors should be anchoring the first midfield line, Matt Bilak and Jake Schmidt. North Carolina’s Hunter Van Horn showed that he is an impact freshmen player and earned more runs on that first line as the day went on.  Gulf Coast’s Bo Garrison also played well and will likely see plenty of time this season along with Jupiter’s Daniel Soviero. Defensively the Spartans are looking forward to the return of  Marty Heyn who started the first four games last year before injury sidelined him.  But in the mean time, Luke Posner looks poised for a solid sophomore year.  He should round out a solid defense along with Charlie Cummins and Nick Bolzano. In the goal, a pair of newcomers are competing with last year’s starter, Andrew Arnold, for the job.   Rutgers transfer, Tyler Greenville, and freshman Bryan Karn both looked good between the pipes.  Knowing Coach Whipple, these guys will be competing for the job right up to the opening face off. Overall, we would have to describe head coach Rory Whipple as “upbeat.”  He likes this team and likes their chances.  “This team has good chemistry and they are very good in the weight room, and working hard… they’re excited.”  Tampa’s schedule is loaded this season with three NCAA tournament teams topping the list.  Limestone, Adelphi, and Lake Erie are all on the schedule. Mark your calendars for February 19th as the Spartans play host to Adelphi.  As the Sunshine State Conference is set to begin it’s  third year of lacrosse, Tampa remains the only champion in the short history of the conference.  In fact, they have yet to loose a conference game.  I believe it’s safe to say they have a pretty big target on them coming into the 2016 season.