The Northwestern Wildcats, the reigning national champions, start the 2012 season sitting in the top spot as the IWLCA released the preseason poll. Maryland, the 2011 runners-up, start in second while 2011 semifinalist North Carolina comes in at third. The ACC and the ALC both claim five schools in the rankings while the Big East follows closely with four institutions. The Ivy League is the only other conference to boast of multiple schools in the top-20 with three. The MPSF, CAA, and America East are each represented by one school. The ACC has four schools in the top-10, with Duke joining the No. 2 Terrapins and No. 3 Tar Heels at No. 5 and Virginia rounding out the top-10 at No. 10. Boston College begins the season in the poll where they left 2011, sitting at No. 13. The ALC is led by top-ranked Northwestern; Florida, who finished their second season in school history at No. 5 in the final 2011 poll, starts 2012 at No. 4. Penn State (No. 17), Ohio State (No. 18), and Vanderbilt (No. 19) form a block in the second half of the poll as all six ALC schools took home votes in the preseason rankings. The Big East is led by Loyola at No. 7. Syracuse starts 2012 in the No. 12 slot, with Georgetown three spots back at No. 15. Notre Dame rounds out the poll in the No. 20 slot. The Ivy League also has a top-10 school in Princeton; the Tigers open at No. 8. Penn starts the second half of the poll, coming in at No. 11, while Dartmouth sits at No. 14. The Stanford Cardinal of the MPSF open the season at No. 6, while the CAA’s James Madison is also in the top-10 as the Dukes start at No. 9. Albany from the America East opens 2012 sitting at No. 16. 
 

Also receiving votes: Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Boston University.
This is the first IWLCA poll of the 2012 season; the regular season polls will start February 27.