ATLANTA — For the third straight week, Florida is atop the MCLA Division I New Balance Weekly Coaches Poll, but the Gators will get a stiff test this weekend to remain at No. 1.
Florida (12-1), which grabbed 23 of the 27 first-place votes, will have to clash with No. 5 Georgia Tech (11-3) on Saturday afternoon in the SELC tournament at the Bolles School in Jacksonville.
If the Gators survive that contest, they will have either No. 3 Georgia (12-1) or No. 14 — and two-time defending national champion — South Carolina (7-8) awaiting them in the conference finals on Sunday.
Virginia Tech (12-2) remains at No. 2 after dismantling NC State to finish the regular season and has a bye into the ALC semifinals at Lynchburg City Stadium on April 29.
The Hokies have three first-place votes and appear to be on a collision course with No. 4 Liberty (12-2) for the ALC championship. The Flames grabbed the remaining top vote.
Chapman (13-2) continues its climb up the charts, moving into sixth this week after routing a pair of former top 15 teams over the weekend.
Simon Fraser (8-0), the only undefeated team left in MCLA Division I, finally cracked the top 10 this week and will look to finish a perfect regular season when the Red Leafs host No. 23 Boise State in British Columbia on Friday night.
There were no new additions to the poll this week.
