Feb. 7, 2007
Notre Dame, Ind. – As the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team continues preparation for the season opener on Feb. 18 at James Madison, two more polls have rated the Irish among the nation’s top teams.
The Irish have been ranked fifth in the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association poll that was released on Feb. 5. That’s the highest ranking the Irish have ever had in the preseason coaches poll. The previous best was seventh and came at the start of the 2003 season. Earlier this winter, the Irish were also ranked fifth in Lacrosse Magazine’s preseason poll.
Inside Lacrosse Magazine also announced its preseason poll and that had the Irish ranked eighth in the nation.
The Irish, coming off their best season in the program’s history, advanced to the NCAA Finals in Boston last year with a 15-4 season. Notre Dame fell in the semifinals to Dartmouth, 14-8. The Irish finished the 2006 season ranked seventh in the IWLCA poll and sixth in the final Bounce Entertainment/Inside Lacrosse Magazine poll.
Based on the IWLCA coaches poll, the Irish will face eight teams that are ranked in the top 20, including the top three teams, Northwestern, Duke and Georgetown. The other teams the Irish will face are Cornell (11th), James Madison (12th), Syracuse (15th), Stanford (18th) and Vanderbilt (19th). Notre Dame is one of three BIG EAST teams ranked in the top 20 along with Georgetown (3rd) and Syracuse (15th).
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 Stanford in a 1:00 p.m. game at the Loftus Sports Center.
IWLCA Preseason Poll Inside Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Poll
Rank School Points Rank School Points 1. Northwestern (13) 298 1. Northwestern (12) 259 2. Duke (1) 283 2. Duke (1) 245 3. Georgetown 242 3. North Carolina 218 4. North Carolina 241 4. Georgetown 210 5. Notre Dame 224 5. Princeton 201 6. Dartmouth 214 6. Maryland 192 Princeton 214 7. Virginia 188 8. Maryland 210 8. Notre Dame 178 9. Virginia 194 9. Dartmouth 16610. Johns Hopkins 159 10. Johns Hopkins 13911. Cornell 143 11. Cornell 11612. James Madison 122 12. Richmond 10713. Richmond 111 13. James Madison 10114. Penn State 101 14. Penn State 8115. Syracuse 87 15. Hofstra 7416. Hofstra 74 16. Boston University 7017. Boston University 73 17. Syracuse 5718. Stanford 51 18. Stanford 3819. Vanderbilt 39 19. Pennsylvania 2420. Pennsylvania 27 20. Vanderbilt 17Receiving Votes: Towson, 19; Receiving Votes: Denver, 15; Towson, 14;Denver, 6. William & Mary, 10; Loyola, 7; UMBC, 2; Virginia Tech, 1.