MELBOURNE, Fla. – The University of Tampa has been voted No. 1 in the 2019 Sunshine State Conference women’s cross country coaches preseason poll. The Spartans are expected to repeat as league champions after receiving 61 points and six first-place votes in the ranking.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University places second in the voting with 55 points and two first-place votes, while Florida Southern College and Saint Leo University tied for third place with 49 points. The Moccasins also picked up the final first-place vote. Lynn University rounds out the Top-5 teams in the poll with 36 points and is followed in voting by a tie between Nova Southeastern University and Palm Beach Atlantic University for sixth. (23 points). Florida Tech (20 Points) and Rollins College (8 points) hold the final two positions in the preseason ranking.

Junior Zoe Jarvis returns after being the top Spartan runner in six of the seven races last season. After finishing sixth overall at the SSC Championships, Jarvis qualified for the nationals with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA South Regional. Head coach Jarrett Slaven will begin the 2019 season with four of his top five performers from last season.

Last season, UT edged ERAU to claim the program’s 14th SSC women’s championship title. Embry-Riddle bounced back to win its first NCAA Division II South Region title. Along with the Eagles, Florida Southern (4th), Saint Leo (6th), Tampa (7th), and Lynn (9th) finished Top-10 at the regional meet. Embry-Riddle (30th) was the lone SSC team qualifier at the NCAA Division II National Meet.

Lynn will host the 2019 Sunshine State Conference Men’s & Women’s Cross Country Championships. The event will take place on Saturday, October 26th at South County Regional Park in Boca Raton. Previously, Nova Southeastern hosted the 2017 championship at South County Regional Park. Florida Southern will host the regional competition on Saturday, November 9th at Holloway Park in Lakeland. California State University – Sacramento will host the NCAA Finals along with the Sacramento Sports Commission on Saturday, November 23rd at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento.

Tampa opens its 2019 season on Friday, September 6 at the Valdosta State Invitational. The UT schedule features five regular-season competitions followed by the SSC race, NCAA South Regional and the NCAA Championships.

2019 SSC WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY PRESEASON COACHES POLL 

*First Place Votes