Jan. 8, 2007
Notre Dame, Ind. – The 2007 Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team, coming off its best season ever in 2006, has been ranked fifth in the first poll of the preseason by Lacrosse Magazine.
The Irish, coming off a 15-4 season that saw them advance to the NCAA Finals in Boston where they fell in the semifinals to Dartmouth, were picked fifth overall behind Northwestern, Virginia, Duke and Princeton. The ranking is the highest that Notre Dame has ever received in the preseason. The Irish closed the 2006 season ranked sixth in the final Bounce Entertainment/Lacrosse Magazine poll.
As usual, the Irish will face an impressive schedule that has them scheduled to play seven teams that will start the 2007 season ranked in the preseason poll. Topping the list is defending national champion Northwestern as the Wildcats again start the season ranked number one. They are followed by Duke (3rd), Georgetown (8th), Cornell (11th), James Madison (12th), Stanford (16th) and Syracuse (17th).
Notre Dame, a member of the highly competitive BIG EAST Conference, is the highest ranked BIG EAST team followed by Georgetown and Syracuse in the preseason rankings.
The Irish open the 2007 season on the road, Sun., Feb. 18 when they travel to Harrisonburg, Va., to face the 12th-ranked James Madison Dukes in a 12:00 noon contest. Notre Dame opens the home schedule on Sat., Feb. 24 when the Irish play host to 16th-ranked Stanford in a 1:00 p.m. game at the Loftus Sports Center.
Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Poll
Rank School 1. Northwestern 2. Virginia 3. Duke 4. Princeton 5. Notre Dame 6. Dartmouth 7. Maryland 8. Georgetown 9. Johns Hopkins10. North Carolina11. Cornell12. James Madison13. Hofstra14. Penn State15. Boston University16. Stanford17. Syracuse18. Towson19. Denver20. Richmond