Ten things to know about Winthrop’s NCAA women’s lacrosse tournament first round game

Winthrop’s second NCAA women’s lacrosse tournament appearance gets underway Friday at 4 p.m., against Penn State in Gainesville, Fla.

The Eagles (20-2) won their second straight Big South title last weekend and face Penn State (11-6), which pulled an at-large bid out of the Big Ten Conference. The Winthrop-Penn State winner faces Florida on Sunday at 1 p.m.; the Gators are ranked No. 2 nationally in both major polls and No. 3 in the women’s lacrosse RPI, and received an NCAA tournament first round bye. Find the full tournament bracket here.

Here’s 10 things to know about Friday’s first round game:

▪ Penn State’s 22 NCAA tournament appearances ranks fourth all-time in NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse. The Nittany Lions are one of just six programs to win multiple national titles.

▪ An NCAA tournament is a fine way for Winthrop’s nine seniors to close out their careers at the school. All nine were part of Winthrop coach John Sung’s first recruiting class when he was building the program from scratch.

▪ The NCAA tournament doesn’t seed teams after the first eight, but Sung said there have definitely been teams in a similar position to Winthrop that have won first round matchups.

▪ Penn State standout Madison Cyr was named a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award, given to the top women’s lacrosse player in the country. The award is named after the Mohawk term for lacrosse. Cyr, a senior midfielder, led the Nittany Lions in goals (48), points (65), shots (110), ground balls (29) and caused turnovers (34).

▪ Winthrop’s program added a nice mid-season pickup when assistant coach Gregg Gebhard joined the coaching staff as a volunteer. Gebhard – an offensive-minded thinker – coached against the Eagles as the head man at Saint Francis (Pa.), but was let go by the school in the middle of this season. He joined up with the Eagles and Sung, who he worked with during the women’s World Cup as an assistant coach of the Haudenosaunee national team. Gebhard was familiar with the Eagles players, having worked Winthrop’s summer lacrosse camps in the past.

“You now know why NFL coaches bring other head coaches to put them on their staffs,” said Sung. “As head coaches, sometimes you get tunnel vision and need to hear other opinions. Not to say you don’t value people on the staff, it’s just another set of eyes.”

▪ Sung said Penn State’s transition game was one of his biggest concerns. The Nittany Lions’ speed and ability to switch ends of the field foster what Sung called, “unsettled opportunities,” where they create woman-up situations and easier scoring chances. On film, Penn State looks very similar to High Point, the team Winthrop beat in the Big South tournament championship.

Penn State is “definitely a team that you’re gonna have to respect how they get up and down the field,” Sung said.

▪ Sung remembered feeling rushed during last year’s NCAA tournament first round experience; the Eagles traveled up to Charlottesville, Va., the same day as the pregame scouting session and practice, then played the next day. Winthrop traveled a day earlier this year in an attempt to help the players feel more settled and less stressed.

The Eagles played Florida in Gainesville two seasons ago, and the Eagles also played fall offseason scrimmages there in 2014. That familiarity came in handy with planning this trip, especially since Winthrop knew to book a hotel closer to the Gators’ lacrosse facility than the one suggested by the host school that was about 20 minutes away.

“We really wanted to minimize how much time we’re traveling on the bus,” Sung said.

▪ There is a 40 percent chance of rain Friday in Gainesville, with temperatures expected in the high 80s. Accuweather.com says conditions will feel like 100 degrees. Could playing in the equivalent of a third grader’s terrarium be an advantage for Winthrop? Sung certainly thinks so.

“That will be an interesting thing to see how Penn State handles it,” he said. “I know how long it took us to acclimate, and it wasn’t just a day.”

▪ Winthrop received votes in the Inside Lacrosse women’s top-25 this week. The program still hasn’t been officially ranked in its four years. A win Friday would certainly cross another “first” off the Eagles’ list.

▪ Sung is making an interesting distinction that all underdog teams in any sport should keep in mind. He’s underscored that his team should focus on what Penn State does, not who they are. To that end, the Winthrop coaching staff has continually pointed out playing similarities between the Nittany Lions and High Point.

“I think where we are as a program, we have an opportunity to turn some heads and see how this goes,” Sung said Thursday morning. “If our kids can be relaxed and stay focused, I think they have an opportunity to have a good showing.”

This story was originally published May 12, 2016 at 11:37 AM with the headline "Ten things to know about Winthrop’s NCAA women’s lacrosse tournament first round game."