2017 NAIA Women's Lacrosse Coaches' Top 10 Poll - Preseason (Jan. 31)
By Nikki Sherrill, Athletic Communications and Media Intern
KANSAS CITY, MO. – Davenport (Mich.) holds the No. 1 ranking in the preseason edition of the NAIA Women’s Lacrosse Coaches’ Top 10 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Panthers gathered six first-place votes and 82 total points to capture the first No. 1 spot of the season.
Top 10 Highlights
• The Panthers of Davenport (Mich.) are the preseason No. 1 in the NAIA Women’s Lacrosse Coaches’ Top 10 Poll. Davenport won the inaugural NAIA Women's Lacrosse Invitational last season after defeating Georgetown (Ky.), 13-9.
• Gathering six first-place votes and 82 total points, the Panthers remain in the top spot after finishing last season at No. 1. Davenport was ranked in the Top 10 all last season, but SCAD Savannah (Ga.) held the top spot until the final poll.
• A wealth of returners are welcomed back for the Panthers, including senior Hannah Bush, who added four goals for her team in the championship last season.
• SCAD Savannah comes in right behind the Panthers at No. 2 in the preseason. The Bees earned the remaining first-place vote in the poll. SCAD Savannah was knocked out of the invitational in the semifinals to eventual champion Davenport. The Bees return two key members from last season in Shannon Flaherty and Torii Clark, who were both named to the All-Tournament Team in 2016.
• The rest of the Top Five remains the same, with only SCAD Savannah and No. 3 Georgetown switching places. Lawrence Tech (Mich.) comes in at No. 4, with No. 5 Indiana Tech rounding out the top of the ratings.
• No new teams entered the Top 10 this edition.
• The Association of Independent Institutions leads all conferences with four programs. The Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference follows with three teams representing.
•Women’s Lacrosse is now in its final year of the two-year process towards becoming an NAIA National Championship sport. The 2017 National Invitational will take place May 3 – 6 in Greenville, S.C.
Poll Methodology
• The ratings committee is comprised of eight raters – two raters per conference/A.I.I./group
• Each conference/A.I.I./group produces a conference rating from which raters will use to compile their national ballot. Only teams represented on the conference rating are eligible for the national ballot.
• Each rater will submit a top 15 ballot, which will be used to produce the Top 10 national rating and a list of other teams receiving votes.
• For the complete Top 10 calendar, click here.
2017 NAIA Women's Lacrosse Coaches' Top 10 Poll - Preseason
| RANK | LAST WEEK^ | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | 2016 Final Record | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Davenport (Mich.) (6) | 17-3 | 82 |
| 2 | 3 | SCAD Savannah (Ga.) (1) | 13-3 | 77 |
| 3 | 2 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 14-4 | 71 |
| 4 | 4 | Lawrence Tech (Mich.) | 15-8 | 68 |
| 5 | 5 | Indiana Tech | 14-4 | 62 |
| 6 | 6 | Columbia (S.C.) | 16-6 | 57 |
| 7 | 7 | Tennessee Wesleyan | 12-7 | 50 |
| 8 | 9 | Ave Maria (Fla.) | 5-8 | 49 |
| 9 | 8 | Robert Morris (Ill.) | 11-3 | 42 |
| 10 | 10 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 9-5 | 34 |
Dropped from the rankings: None
Others receiving votes: Lourdes (Ohio) 28; Missouri Baptist 28; Point (Ga.) 23; Siena Heights (Mich.) 20; Benedictine (Kan.) 16.
^Reflects ranking in 2016 NAIA Women's Coaches' Top 10 Poll - Final (May 7)
