No. 9 Spartans Primed for NCAA Quarterfinal

INDIANAPOLIS –  The stage is set for the No. 9 University of Tampa men's lacrosse team to meet No. 7 Lenoir-Rhyne University on Saturday, May 13 at 2 p.m. in the NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse Championship Quarterfinals at Hickory, N.C.

The Spartans earned a bid for the fourth consecutive year, as they enter the contest with a 14-4 overall record.  Tampa has not matched-up against the Bears since 2013 and currently have a winning record against them of 2-0. 

In postseason play, Tampa advanced to the national semifinals in 2014 and 2016. The Spartans have now been selected to four consecutive NCAA tournaments, dating back to 2014. All time, Tampa boasts a 2-1 record in quarterfinal contests.

Sophomore Andrew Kew leads UT in goals scored while breaking the NCAA record for goals in a season, now sitting at 81 on the season. Senior Conor Whipple was named the Sunshine State Conference Player of the year for the third time in his career for leading the Conference and squad in points with 91 (35 goals and 56 assists). The attacker is the career record holder in goals (161), assists (170) and points (331).

Leading the Spartan defense is the quad of A.J. Ferraro, Charlie Cummins, Marty Heyn and Luke Posner. Combined they have 141 ground balls and 84 caused turnovers. Heyn leads the squad in caused turnovers with 30. Ferraro tops the defense in ground balls with 41 on the season. Three of the quadruplets earned All-SSC honors.

Between the posts for UT is senior A.J. Arnold, in his final campaign the goalkeeper is 12-4 on the season with a .534 save percentage while tallying 134 saves in net. Arnold has limited his opponents to 8.45 goals against average.

Lenoir-Rhyne clinches their first NCAA tournament appearance posting a record of 12-2. 

The Bears offense is led by the duo of Eric Dickinson and Mike Hanlon, each posting 66 points. Dickinson leading in goals and Hanlon in assists. In net is Ryan Crompton with a record of 11-2 and .567 save percentage. 

The postseason contest marks the third meeting between the two teams as the all-time series is 2-0 in favor of the Spartans. Live stats and video will be provided courtesy of Lenoir-Rhyne University. The quarterfinal is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start on Saturday, May 13th. 

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