May 3, 2009

NCAA RELEASE

Click here for the full bracket!

INDIANAPOLIS---The NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Committee has selected the 16 teams to compete in the 2009 NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship.

Eight first-round games will be conducted Sunday, May 10, and four quarterfinal games will be played Saturday, May 16.  These preliminary-round games will be played on the campuses of competing institutions.  The winners of the four quarterfinal games will advance to the semifinals and final hosted by Towson University May 22 and 24 at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Maryland.  The semifinal games will be broadcast live on CBS College Sports Network at 6 and 8:30 p.m. Eastern time, Friday, May 22. The championship game will be broadcast live at 5:30 p.m., Sunday, May 24.  Tickets for the semifinals and final can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Seven conferences have been awarded automatic qualification for the 2009 championship.  In addition, the champions of the Northeast Conference and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference competed in a play-in game for an additional automatic berth.  The remaining eight teams were selected on an at-large basis.

A complete bracket with teams, dates and sites is attached. Click here for the full bracket!

Teams Receiving Automatic Qualification:

Northwestern University enters the tournament as four-time defending champions. The University of Maryland will be making its 20th consecutive appearance in the championship (1990-2009).  Other teams with consecutive appearance streaks of five or more years include the University of Virginia (14, 1996-2009), Duke University (12, 1998-2009), Princeton University (12, 1998-2009) and Northwestern (6, 2004-2009).  

In the 2008 championship, the Northwestern Wildcats captured their fourth consecutive national championship, defeating Pennsylvania 10-6 at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Maryland. Hilary Bowen was named MVP of the championship for the second consecutive year after scoring three goals to help the Wildcats recapture the crown before an NCAA women’s lacrosse record crowd of 6,125.