May 5, 2008
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The ninth-ranked Vanderbilt women’s lacrosse team will travel to Princeton for the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament on Sunday, May 11 at noon CT.
Head Coach Cathy Swezey gathered her Commodores on campus to watch the NCAA Selection Show live on CBS College Sports. Vanderbilt, which won 12 regular-season contests this year for the first time in school history to better last year’s mark of 11-5, was ranked ninth in the most recent IWLCA poll.
“We are very excited to be a part of the NCAA Tournament,” Swezey said. “I’m proud of what our team has accomplished this season. As a group, we are excited to be playing a new team. We are ready to buckle down and start our preparation for this weekend.”
The Commodores’ 13th victory of 2008 came this past Saturday against Johns Hopkins in the semifinals of the American Lacrosse Conference Tournament, setting a new plateau for overall wins in a season. Vanderbilt dropped the league’s championship game to top-seeded Northwestern, missing out on a chance to earn the league’s automatic bid for the first time since 2004.
The NCAA Tournament berth is Vanderbilt’s fourth overall in the past seven seasons. The Commodores hold an all-time record of 2-3 in the NCAA Tournament, including a 2004 appearance in the Final Four. That national semifinal game was the only previous meeting between Vanderbilt and Princeton, with the Tigers winning, 11-3, on their home field.
“Our senior class has been the core of our team,” Swezey continued. “And I have to give them a lot of credit for taking us to the tournament these last two seasons. They have played an integral role in our success for four years, and they’re excited to have another shot at the postseason.”
Last season, Vanderbilt played host to an opening round game for the first time in school history when Syracuse visited Music City for an eight-nine matchup. The Orange got past homestanding Vanderbilt, 16-10, before falling to eventual national champion Northwestern in the quarterfinals.
Following Sunday’s first round game, the winner of the Vanderbilt-Princeton matchup will face either top-seeded Northwestern or Notre Dame on Saturday, May 17, with the higher seeded team playing host to that quarterfinal game. The 2008 Final Four will be hosted at Towson University’s Johnny Unitas Field, May 23-25, in Towson, Md.
NCAA First Round Matchups
Sunday, May 11
Evanston, Ill.
1 Northwestern
Notre Dame
Princeton, N.J.
Vanderbilt
8 Princeton
Syracuse, N.Y.
5 Syracuse
Towson
Charlottesville, Va.
North Carolina
4 Virginia
College Park, Md.
3 Maryland
Temple
Washington, D.C.
Duke
6 Georgetown
Boston, Mass.
7 Boston University
New Hampshire
Philadelphia, Penn.
2 Penn
Colgate