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May 12, 2007
The Virginia women’s lacrosse team faces Princeton in the first round of the NCAA Championships on Sunday, May 13 at 1 p.m. The Cavaliers (16-3) are the No. 3 seed and face Princeton (10-6) for the second consecutive year. This is the 12th consecutive year Virginia has earned a bid to the NCAA Championships and it is the 22nd year the Cavaliers have been invited to the national tournament.
The ACC Champions, Virginia is riding a five-game winning streak that includes wins over fifth-seeded Maryland and sixth-seeded UNC. The Cavaliers have forged a 16-3 record against the nation’s ninth-toughest schedule, according to lacrossedraw.com.
The rivalry between Virginia and Princeton is one of the top in collegiate lacrosse; the Cavaliers own a slight 13-12 edge in the series after this season’s 9-7 victory in Charlottesville on March 24. Princeton, however, owns a 4-3 advantage in the NCAA Championships, including last year’s 8-7 victory in the first round. The two schools are tied with 41 NCAA games played each; Princeton has won 28 compared to Virginia’s 25 and they rank 2-3 all-time in NCAA history. Both schools have won three titles, and Virginia has defeated Princeton in two of those title games (1993, 2004) while the Tigers defeated Virginia in the 2003 championship game.
The Cavaliers in 2007 are one of the nation’s top defensive teams and rank fifth nationally in scoring defense. First-year Kaitlin Duff leads the team in both ground balls and caused turnovers; her classmate Brittany Kalkstein, the ACC Freshman of the Year, leads the team in draw controls and ranks nationally in that statistic. Kendall McBrearty anchors the defense, ranking fifth nationally and posts a 7.78 GAA. She also ranks in the top-15 nationally in save percentage.
On the other side of the ball, Virginia is scoring at a clip of 12.68 goals per game and ranks 18th nationally. Kate Breslin, a 2007 Tewaaraton Trophy semifinalist and an All-ACC selection, leads the Cavaliers with 76 points on 54 goals and 22 assists. Fellow All-ACC honoree Blair Weymouth ranks right behind her with 46-23-69, and Ashley McCulloch leads the Hoos with 29 assists, which is a new record for second years at Virginia.
Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for youth 18-and-under and students of participating schools with a student ID. Tickets can be purchased in person at Bryant Hall ticket office or by calling the UVa Athletics Ticket Office at 800/542-8821. Tickets can also be purchased online at virginiasports.com. The Ticket Office encourages all fans to purchase and pick up their tickets in advance to avoid long ticket sales and Will Call lines on game day.
The entire NCAA bracket is as follows
First round games on Sunday, May 13No. 1 Northwestern vs Holy CrossNo. 2 Duke vs LeMoyneNo. 3 Virginia vs PrincetonNo. 4 Penn vs Boston UniversityNo. 5 Maryland vs YaleNo. 6 North Carolina vs Richmond Hofstra vsNo. 7 Johns HopkinsNo. 8 Vanderbilt vs Syracuse