TAMPA, Fla. – Head coach Rory Whipple has led the No. 6 University of Tampa men’s lacrosse team to the Sunshine State Conference regular season championship, earning the top seed in the SSC tournament. The Spartans will face No. 4 seed Rollins College on Saturday April 19 at 1 p.m. at the Naimoli Family Athletic and Intramural Complex.
The Spartans (13-2; 5-0 SSC) defeated Rollins 13-8 on April 9. In that game the Spartans jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after the opening period. The Tars (6-8; 2-3 SSC) struck first in the second quarter, but Tampa responded scoring three of the final four goals in the quarter to take a 6-2 lead at halftime. Tampa outscored Rollins 7-6 in the second half for the 13-8 final. Conor Whipple and Jake Rooney finished with four goals apiece, while Brian Patton netted a hat trick.
No. 10 Florida Southern is the two seed in the SSC tournament and will host Saint Leo in the other semi-finals. The Moccasins defeated the Lions 11-10 in overtime when the two teams meet on April 5.
The winner of the two semi-finals will play for the SSC Championship on Saturday April 26 at 1 p.m at the site of the highest remaining seed.
This is the third year in a row that Tampa will be the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. The Spartans won the Deep South Conference regular season title in the programs first two years. Last year, Tampa advanced to the DSC championship game before falling to Catawba.
Live stats and a video webcast will be available through TampaSpartans.tv.
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