The Northwestern Wildcats, the reigning national champions, remain in the top spot as the IWLCA released its third weekly regular-season poll. The ‘Cats claimed 19 of the 20 first-place votes; the UNC Tar Heels garnered the other No.1 vote and remained at No. 2. Undefeated Massachusetts enters the poll for the first time this season. The American Lacrosse Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference both claim five schools in the poll, giving these two leagues half of the teams in the rankings. The ALC is led by top-ranked Northwestern; all five schools are ranked in the top-12. Florida moves to No. 6 while Vanderbilt remains in the top-10 at No. 8. Penn State (No. 11) and Ohio State (No. 12) start the second half of the poll, flipping positions from last week. The ACC has four schools in the top-10, starting with No. 2 UNC. Duke (No. 4) and Maryland (No. 5) switch their order from last week and Virginia falls to No. 10, closing out the top half of the poll. Boston College moves to No. 14. The Big East has four ranked teams, including two in the top-10. Both Syracuse (No. 3) and Notre Dame (No. 7) move up three spots from last week. Loyola jumps up four spots to land at No. 13 while Georgetown holds at No. 15. The Ivy League is represented by three teams, starting with No. 9 Penn. Princeton moves to No. 16 and Dartmouth moves to No. 17. The CAA’s Towson moves up one spot to No. 18 while James Madison remains in the rankings, moving to No. 20. Massachusetts from the Atlantic-10 moves into the rankings, coming in at No. 19. On Tuesday, No. 18 Towson travels to face No. 3 Syracuse. Saturday features 12 ranked teams competing against another poll team. No. 1 Northwestern welcomes poll newcomer and 19th-ranked Massachusetts while No. 2 UNC travels to face No. 15 Georgetown. No. 4 Duke goes to No. 17 Dartmouth while No. 5 Maryland welcomes ACC-rival and No. 14 Boston College. No. 16 Princeton welcomes No. 10 Virginia and No. 13 Loyola goes to No. 20 James Madison. A key ALC game takes place on Sunday as No. 8 Vanderbilt hosts No. 11 Penn State.
| Record | Votes (1st Pl) | Previous | |
| 1. Northwestern | 6-0 | 399 (19) | 1 |
| 2. North Carolina | 8-0 | 381 (1) | 2 |
| 3. Syracuse | 3-2 | 342 | 6 |
| 4. Duke | 7-2 | 341 | 4 |
| 5. Maryland | 5-2 | 318 | 3 |
| 6. Florida | 6-2 | 313 | 5 |
| 7. Notre Dame | 4-0 | 265 | 10 |
| 8. Vanderbilt | 4-1 | 250 | 7 |
| 9. Pennsylvania | 3-1 | 235 | 9 |
| 10. Virginia | 3-3 | 229 | 8 |
| 11. Penn State | 5-2 | 188 | 12 |
| 12. Ohio State | 5-1 | 145 | 11 |
| 13. Loyola | 3-2 | 128 | 17 |
| 14. Boston College | 4-2 | 111 | 18 |
| 15. Georgetown | 2-2 | 105 | 15 |
| 16. Princeton | 2-2 | 102 | 14 |
| 17. Dartmouth | 3-0 | 95 | 16 |
| 18. Towson | 4-1 | 52 | 19 |
| 19. Massachusetts | 6-0 | 49 | RV |
| 20. James Madison | 3-3 | 39 | 13 |
Also receiving votes: Cornell, Harvard, Stanford, Stony Brook.
This is the third regular-season IWLCA poll of the 2012 season; the next poll will be released on March 19.
Tag(s): 2012