2024 FanLax Forum Poll

[SKUD]

I have no gripes with Kaplans poll…. All fair points after this weekend. But can someone tell me how the hell Swarthmore stays in top 20. Outside of a tight game with Amherst what have they done? Are we not going to reward Hamilton or Endicott for staple victories vs ranked opponents?

Agree get rid of Swarthmore and Stevenson and any 4 or 5 loss team and insert the 2 you mentioned.

[richard]

Salisbury
RIT
Tufts
RPI
SLU
Wesleyan
Union
CNU
Dickinson
Stevens
York
Endicott
Bowdoin
Randolph Macon
Swarthmore
Amherst
W&L
Hamilton
Gettysburg
Cabrini
Naz
Babson
Noke
Lynchburg
Hampden Sidney

[JustOneTime]

I have no gripes with Kaplans poll…. All fair points after this weekend. But can someone tell me how the hell Swarthmore stays in top 20. Outside of a tight game with Amherst what have they done? Are we not going to reward Hamilton or Endicott for staple victories vs ranked opponents?

I think IL and Kaplan are placing too much emphasis on last years performance. That is the problem with a preseason poll. Once you rank a team so high it's tough to drop them too much when they lose to a good team. I think the polls should start after week 5. A perfect example is Swarthmore. I think they are a very good team and maybe deserve to be ranked but they have not beaten anybody good this year. Their schedule has been fairly weak as well which may well come back to haunt them come selection time. They will need to win several of their big conference games in order to make the tournament.

[Laxattackjack]

I have no gripes with Kaplans poll…. All fair points after this weekend. But can someone tell me how the hell Swarthmore stays in top 20. Outside of a tight game with Amherst what have they done? Are we not going to reward Hamilton or Endicott for staple victories vs ranked opponents?

I think IL and Kaplan are placing too much emphasis on last years performance. That is the problem with a preseason poll. Once you rank a team so high it's tough to drop them too much when they lose to a good team. I think the polls should start after week 5. A perfect example is Swarthmore. I think they are a very good team and maybe deserve to be ranked but they have not beaten anybody good this year. Their schedule has been fairly weak as well which may well come back to haunt them come selection time. They will need to win several of their big conference games in order to make the tournament.

rankings in feb and march are really just opinions from last season. they really don’t matter until April. take York for example. as several had said, 5 losses doesn’t look like a top 20 team. but come May, they only team(s) that wouldn’t be panicking to see York in the first round would be Tufts and maybe Salisbury.

[aroundtheoutside]

Fascinating to see people ranking Dickinson ahead of a CNU team who beat them handily Saturday, or York ahead of a Dickinson team who beat them Sunday. Also hard to imagine ranking York in the top ten at all with a 2-5 record, no matter how close their losses have been. I guess it comes down to your philosophy of rankings. Is it "Which team do I think would beat the other?" Or is it based on who has earned it through wins and SOS?

Great seeing SLU get a lot of love--they might shake up the "same old" group down the stretch come playoff time.

[richard]

I think the eye test might explain a lot especially in person. York is a damn good team. Dickinson was a split personality this past weekend. Tufts might not be all they are cracked up to be. W&L looked really good vs RIT. Seeing teams play on video or looking at stats,scores and won lost records can’t compare to in person viewing.

[StevieUAlum]

I have no gripes with Kaplans poll…. All fair points after this weekend. But can someone tell me how the hell Swarthmore stays in top 20. Outside of a tight game with Amherst what have they done? Are we not going to reward Hamilton or Endicott for staple victories vs ranked opponents?

Agree get rid of Swarthmore and Stevenson and any 4 or 5 loss team and insert the 2 you mentioned.

Pandering for more North teams who aren't proven makes no sense, sure Hamilton beat a ranked team, every squirrel finds an acorn every now and then. Same goes for Endicott who struggled against a Union team who is most likely on the same level as York/Stevie. One win over a top 10 team doesn't mean anything unless you do it consistently.

ODAC is more balanced but not as strong overall this year it seem. Stevie and York have no chocie but to win the MAC to get in the dance bc the W&L win probably won't mean much and they have losing records against top 20 competition, ask Cantabene about that after the last two years. Lynchburg is most definitely not as good as most years, too much inconsistency. Could be a scenario where the Lynchburg win might not carry as much weight down the stretch. RMC and Noke especially will give L-Burg and W&L all they can handle. Don't be surprised if the underdogs prevail.

[Laxattackjack]

RIT goes down. salisbury, RPI, and St Lawrence looking solid. York slipping away.

1. Salisbury
2. RPI
3. St Lawrence
4. RIT
5. Tufts
6. CNU
7. Dickinson
8. Union
9. Amherst
10. Wesleyan
11. Stevens
12. Swarthmore
13. Bowdoin
14. lynchburg
15. Roanoke
16. W&L
17. Babson
18. Gettysburg
19. Grove City
20. Endicott

[richard]

Wesleyan lost to Stevens last week.Not that much of a game. Only losses are Tufts and Dickinson.

[Laxattackjack]

Wesleyan lost to Stevens last week.Not that much of a game. Only losses are Tufts and Dickinson.

that’s cool. i have a lot of questions about your ranking.

[richard]

I am sure you will. I haven’t put mine up yet.

[Laxattackjack]

I am sure you will. I haven’t put mine up yet.

bingo

[ah23]

Pandering for more North teams who aren't proven makes no sense, sure Hamilton beat a ranked team, every squirrel finds an acorn every now and then. Same goes for Endicott who struggled against a Union team who is most likely on the same level as York/Stevie.

Isn't pumping up teams who are 1/6 against ranked opponents pretty much the definition of a blind squirrel finding a nut every now and then?

I do agree that teams shouldn't get huge bumps/automatic poll spots just because of one game, if only because the polls would be completely incoherent from week to week. However, that should apply to everyone, regardless of the name on the front of the jersey. As frustrating as it is, teams prove themselves by winning games, not piling up 'quality losses'.

One win over a top 10 team doesn't mean anything unless you do it consistently.

Again: I don't necessarily disagree, but that is an argument against teams like York/Stevenson, not for them.

Just for the sake of discussion, I think Endicott has a much better case than Hamilton. Endicott has a 2-goal loss to #8 Union (saying they struggled isn't accurate; it was close throughout and was a 1-goal game with four minutes to go in the 4th) and a 3-goal win over #9 Bowdoin, plus a few solid if unremarkable wins elsewhere. Don't think it's a leap at all to say that Endicott is a top 25 team. Don't feel the same way about Hamilton yet; beating Lynchburg (who smacked Stevenson and Denison around) is impressive, but you're right that the blowout loss to Amherst stands out. Playing MIT/Bowdoin/Middlebury over the next week-plus should give a pretty clear picture of where they stand this year. Until then...wait and see.

[ah23]

Meanwhile, loose poll through W6:
1 Salisbury
2 RPI
3 RIT
4 Tufts
5 St. Lawrence
6 Christopher Newport
7 Dickinson
8 Union
9 Amherst
10 Wash. & Lee
11 Bowdoin
12 Stevens
13 Wesleyan
14 Gettysburg
15 Williams
16 Babson
17 Endicott
18 Lynchburg
19 Roanoke
20 Middlebury
21 Grove City
22 Swarthmore
23 York
24 Denison
25 Hampden-Sydney

[Laxattackjack]

Meanwhile, loose poll through W6:
1 Salisbury
2 RPI
3 RIT
4 Tufts
5 St. Lawrence
6 Christopher Newport
7 Dickinson
8 Union
9 Amherst
10 Wash. & Lee
11 Bowdoin
12 Stevens
13 Wesleyan
14 Gettysburg
15 Williams
16 Babson
17 Endicott
18 Lynchburg
19 Roanoke
20 Middlebury
21 Grove City
22 Swarthmore
23 York
24 Denison
25 Hampden-Sydney

curious to hear your reasoning for W&L in the top 10. losses to two no top 20 teams and only one top 20 win

[ah23]

curious to hear your reasoning for W&L in the top 10. losses to two no top 20 teams and only one top 20 win

To be honest, I think you’re probably right that they’re higher they should be. I just don’t love any of the resumes in that blob from 10 onwards, including W&L. Everyone has flaws; some have weird losses, others have a lack of great wins, etc. Where would you shuffle them down to and who would you move up?

[Laxattackjack]

curious to hear your reasoning for W&L in the top 10. losses to two no top 20 teams and only one top 20 win

To be honest, I think you’re probably right that they’re higher they should be. I just don’t love any of the resumes in that blob from 10 onwards, including W&L. Everyone has flaws; some have weird losses, others have a lack of great wins, etc. Where would you shuffle them down to and who would you move up?

my list is a few posts before yours. i have them at 16. and u agree with you. once i got past the top 7, i think the next 15 are all the same. at the end of the year, i dont think the york and stevenson losses will look bad.

[SKUD]

Means nothing till May:
1 Salisbury
2 RPI
3 RIT
4 Tufts
5 St Lawrence
5 Union
7 CNU
8 Dickinson
9 Amherst
10 Bowdoin
11 Wesleyan
12 Babson
13 Stevens
14 Wesleyan
15 Gettysburg
16 Endicott
24 Hamilton
24 Williams
24 Swarthmore
24 Lynchburg
24 Roanoke
24 Washington and Lee
24 Middlebury
24 Grove City
25 York

[richard]

Salisbury
RPI
RIT
SLU
Tufts
Union
CNU
Dickinson
Stevens
Amherst
Endicott
Bowdoin
Wesleyan
Swarthmore
Baboon
W&L
Gettysburg
Roanoke
Hampden Sidney
Hamilton
Naz
Lynchburg
Randy Mac
Grove City
Cabrini

[JustOneTime]

Like everyone else is saying - after the top 8 or 9 all of the other teams seem similar. It feels as though winning your conference this year will be more important than ever before.
1 Salisbury
2 RPI
3 RIT
4 Tufts
5 St. Lawrence
6 CNU
7 Union
8 Dickinson
9 Bowdoin
10 Amherst
11 Swarthmore
12 Stevens
13 Gettysburg
14 W&L
15 Hamilton
16 Lynchburg
17 Wesleyan
18 Babson
19 Williams
20 Endicott
21 Middlebury
22 Hampden Sydney
23 Roanoke
24 Gove City
25 York
26 Denison
27 Stevenson
28 Nazareth
29 St. Mary's
30 Randolph Macon