Men's Lacrosse | 3/28/2017 12:12:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----The 15th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs will make the short drive up East Independence Boulevard for a South Atlantic Conference rivalry showdown versus the Queens University of Charlotte Royals from the Queens Sports Complex Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs split the 2016 season series with Queens, defeating the (then) 12th-ranked Royals 9-8 in the regular season from Graham Gill Field, but falling to 20th-ranked Queens 9-5 in the SAC tournament semi-final round in Charlotte.
 
Wingate enters the match-up at 7-2 overall and 3-1 in the SAC, currently riding a three-game win streak. Queens is 5-3 overall and 3-1 in league play. Both teams are tied for the second-place spot in the SAC standings behind first place Lenoir-Rhyne (8-1 overall, 5-0 SAC). The Royals look to rebound from their first conference loss to Lincoln Memorial Saturday.
 
"This is a big game for both teams," Wingate head men's lacrosse coach Tim Boyle says. "Queens is a very good team who is well-coached. It will take a big effort on our part if we want to be successful. The coaching staff is excited to be a part of this long-standing rivalry and expect it be a hard-fought game."
 
The Wingate Bulldogs have five student-athletes totaling double-digit goals with senior attack Austin Murphy (Orillia, Ontario) leading the charge. Murphy tops the WU charts with 40 total points (19 goals, 21 assists), while ranking second in the SAC with his point and assist total.
 
WU sophomore attack Alex Llerandi (Marietta, Ga.) has tallied 16 goals and five assists, including nine tallies in three games last week when he earned SAC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second time in his career. He posted a career-best four goals against (then) fifth-ranked Belmont Abbey Wednesday.
 
Bulldog sophomore midfielder Daniel Godwin (Greensboro, N.C.) and junior attack Jeremy Sullivan (Crofton, Md.) contribute 12 goals each on the season, while sophomore midfielder Conor Gronbach (Cary, N.C.) has added 11 tallies. Godwin had a season-high four goals versus Lincoln Memorial last week (March 19).
 
Wingate junior goalkeeper Will Sheridan (Woodstock, Ga.) continues to dominate in the cage, ranking second in the SAC with 110 total saves and first in all of NCAA Division II lacrosse with a 65.1 save percentage. He also leads the league and is seventh in the nation with 7.13 goals-against average. Sheridan had a career-high, 22-save performance versus Florida Southern (Feb. 24) and added 20 saves against Lenoir-Rhyne (March 11).
 
For Queens, freshman attack Justin Swick (Easton, Pa.) leads the Royals with 18 goals and six assists. Sophomore attack Garrett Sadler (Chittenango, N.Y.) is second with 17 total points (11 goals, six assists), while freshman attack Duncan Smith (Chittenango, N.Y.) has contributed 12 tallies in his first collegiate season. Freshman midfielder Reed Murphy (Saskatoon, Canada) adds 11 goals.
 
The Wingate Bulldogs completed a 3-0 week with two huge victories over (then) fifth-ranked Belmont Abbey Wednesday by a score of 11-7, along with a dominant 15-4 league triumph over Coker Saturday. The Bulldogs topped Lincoln Memorial 14-7 on Sunday, March 19 to start the three-games-in-seven-days stretch. Wingate looks to push their current win streak to four games with a win Wednesday night.
 
Queens began the season with four consecutive non-conference contests, falling to the University of Tampa in its season opener 14-9. The Royals then tallied back-to-back victories over North Greenville and Florida Southern before falling to 2-2 in a 14-6 defeat to Belmont Abbey. Queens won its first three SAC games before being upset by Lincoln Memorial 11-5 this past Saturday.
 
Wingate has been nationally ranked in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA)/Nike Division II top 20 poll for three consecutive weeks, starting at number 19 and moving up four spots. The Bulldogs look to continue their momentum in a huge conference battle from the Queen City.
 
"We talk every day to the team about our expectations and concentrating on getting better each day," Boyle says. "We also talk at length about appreciating every moment we have together as a family. We should not take for granted the opportunities we have to step on the field together to represent Wingate and the Bulldog lacrosse family."
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, consistently ranked as a top 10 "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,200 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 35 minors, 12 career concentrations, nine pre-professional programs, master's degrees in accounting, business, education, physician assistant studies and sport management and doctorates in education, pharmacy and physical therapy.
 
With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visit www.youtube.com/wingateuniversity. 
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past 10 years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing colleges in the 2000's with 88 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate is number one in this millennium with 88 Academic All-America® honorees. Wingate is tops among all SAC schools with 97 lifetime Academic All-America® picks. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.
 
(Wingate University athletic media relations/sports network student assistant Jackson Kaplan contributed this article. A sophomore from Raleigh, Kaplan is a Communication Studies major at Wingate.)