ACC coaches predict Clemson lacrosse's inaugural finish

Clemson was picked 10th out of 10 teams in the women's lacrosse ACC coaches preseason poll.

by Press Release - Tue Feb 07 16:37:06 GMT-04:00 2023

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – North Carolina has been selected as the preseason favorite in the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Poll, released Tuesday by the league office. Coming off its third national championship in program history and fifth straight ACC title, UNC finished with 92 total points in voting by the ACC’s 10 head coaches.

The Tar Heels landed just ahead of Boston College (86), which finished as the national runner-up to UNC last season following a 12-11 national championship game. Syracuse placed third with 85 points and was followed by Duke (65), Notre Dame (64), Virginia (56), Virginia Tech (36), Louisville (27), Pitt (23) and Clemson (14). The Tigers are making their program debut this season, becoming the 10th ACC school to sponsor women’s lacrosse.

The Preseason All-ACC Team features 18 student-athletes, including five Inside Lacrosse Women’s Preseason First-Team All-Americans: Jenn Medjid and Belle Smith (Boston College), Maddie Jenner (Duke), Caitlyn Wurzburger (North Carolina) and Meaghan Tyrrell (Syracuse). In all, 14 of the 18 Preseason All-ACC selections are represented on the first, second and third teams of Inside Lacrosse’s Preseason All-America Team.

Boston College leads all schools with five student-athletes on the Preseason All-ACC Team, and seven schools are represented.

Six ACC women’s lacrosse teams are ranked in the Preseason Inside Lacrosse Women/IWLCA poll, including three in the top 10, led by North Carolina atop the poll at No. 1. Boston College is No. 3 and is followed by Syracuse (5), Duke (11), Virginia (13) and Notre Dame (16). The ACC has the most teams in the poll among all conferences. The ACC also leads all leagues with 26 players on the Preseason Inside Lacrosse All-America Team.

The 2023 women’s lacrosse season begins this weekend with all 10 programs in action. The featured national matchup of the opening weekend comes at noon Saturday as No. 5 Syracuse opens its season at home against No. 3 Northwestern in a rematch of a 2022 NCAA Quarterfinal match. Clemson starts its inaugural season at 3 p.m. Saturday at home against Wofford on ACC Network.

2023 ACC Preseason Coaches Poll

1. North Carolina (7), 92

2. Boston College (1), 86

3. Syracuse (1), 85

4. Duke, 65

5. Notre Dame (1), 64

6. Virginia, 58

7. Virginia Tech, 36

8. Louisville, 27

9. Pitt, 23

10. Clemson, 14

First-place votes in parentheses