Florida Tech Panthers Ranked No. 13 in DII Preseason Poll For Lacrosse
By Zach Clark // December 18, 2015
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Following the best season in the program’s short history, Florida Tech men’s lacrosse enters the 2016 season with high expectations. The Panthers’ achievements during the previous campaign garnered the team its first ever appearance in a preseason poll, coming in at No. 13 in the Inside Lacrosse Preseason DII Poll.
“This is another milestone for our program,” stated head coach Ryan McAleavey.
“Being ranked in the preseason poll is a big step for us, especially recruiting wise. We’re starting to get more interest from kids and it puts us in a really good spot to build more awareness for the program.”
Florida Tech ended the 2015 season with a 12-4 record and finished runner-up in the Sunshine State Conference, falling to Tampa 11-8 in the championship game.
During the season, the Panthers rose to as high as No. 12 in the rankings and were featured in the polls in all but one week during the campaign, the first one. FIT concluded the year at No. 12/15 in the final national polls.
“Last season, the guys did their job and got us to a really good position, a position we’ve never been in before as a program,” McAleavey continued.
“Now it’s time for this year’s team to prove it, back up the awards and accolades we’ve been receiving. We have very high expectations, the guys have been working real hard and we just need to prove that we’re as good as, if not better than, people think.”
The Panthers kick off the 2016 campaign on Jan. 30 with an exhibition game against NCAA Division I Mercer in Macon, Georgia. Florida Tech’s season opener is set for the following Friday, Feb. 5 against Young Harris at 7 p.m. ET.
All FIT home games this season will be played at Florida Tech Panther Stadium.
