Inside Lacrosse women's poll and what's next for state teams (April 2)

Three teams from Maryland rank in the top seven in this week’s Inside Lacrosse women’s media poll as Maryland remained No. 3 while No. 6 Loyola Maryland rose one spot and No. 7 Towson is up two.

Loyola and Towson each rose within one spot of their highest all-time rankings in a national poll. The Greyhounds climbed as high as No. 5 in 2015 while the Tigers were ranked No. 6 in the US Lacrosse poll last week.

Both teams benefited from Penn’s loss to Northwestern, which dropped the Quakers from No. 6 to 11. Towson also hopped over Florida, which the Tigers defeated two weeks ago.

Defending national champion Maryland is ranked behind the only two unbeaten teams in Division I, No. 1 Stony Brook and No. 2 Boston College. The Terps do not play either one.

No. 12 Navy also moved up a spot, jumping over Syracuse which tumbled from No. 12 to 18 after falling to 17-10 to then-No. 20 Duke.

The Orange will travel to Loyola on Thursday as the Greyhounds face two tough opponents late in the week. They head to Navy on Saturday where they will try to avenge last year’s Patriot League championship loss to the Midshipmen, the first loss for Loyola to a conference opponent since joining the Patriot League in 2014.

The Midshipmen used that conference title to help catapult them into the final four last season. After meeting Loyola on Saturday, they host No. 10 Virginia on April 11.

In the meantime, the Cavaliers continue their rivalry with Maryland when they head to College Park for a Wednesday night game. The Terps then host Big Ten rival Rutgers Saturday.

Towson continues its Colonial Athletic Association schedule at Drexel Friday before hosting Delaware Sunday.

Inside Lacrosse Cascade Division I women’s media poll

Team;Prev.;Rec.

1. Stony Brook; 1; 9-0

2. Boston College; 2; 13-0

3. Maryland; 3; 10-1

4. James Madison; 4; 9-1

5. North Carolina; 5; 8-3

6. Loyola Maryland; 8; 8-2

7. Towson; 9; 7-2

8. Florida; 8; 8-3

9. Northwestern; 11; 9-3

10. Virginia; 10; 8-3

11. Penn; 6; 8-2

12. Navy; 13; 9-2

13. Stanford; 14; 9-3

14. Virginia Tech; 17; 10-4

15. Colorado;15; 7-4

16. Duke; 20; 7-4

17. Southern California; 16; 7-5

18. Syracuse; 12; 7-5

19. High Point; —; 7-2

20. Notre Dame; —; 6-6

Receiving votes: Penn State, Dartmouth, Denver, Princeton, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Massachusetts (in order most votes to fewest)

State teams’ records, last game and next game

» Maryland; 10-1; Def. Michigan, 16-9; Vs. No. 10 Virginia, Wed.

» Loyola Maryland; 8-2; Def. Boston University, 18-11; Vs. No. 18 Syracuse, Thurs.

» Towson; 7-2; Def. Yale, 9-4; At Drexel, Fri.

» Navy; 9-2; Def. Holy Cross, 19-7; Vs. No. 6 Loyola, Sat.

» Johns Hopkins; 7-4; Lost to No. 11 Northwestern, 11-10; At Michigan, Sun.

» UMBC; 9-3; Def. Massachusetts-Lowell, 9-7; At Binghamton, Wed.

» Mount St. Mary’s; 5-4; Def. San Diego State, 13-12; Vs. Saint Francis, Fri.