Feb. 5, 2010
Notre Dame, ind. – The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team that opens the 2010 season on Feb. 23 at Hofstra has been ranked eighth in the preseason Inside Lacrosse media poll.
The poll puts the Irish in good company, as eight of the teams on the 2010 schedule are included in the preseason rankings. That list includes five-time defending national champion, Northwestern, as the Wildcats open the season ranked No. 1 in the nation after going 23-0 last season.
Joining Northwestern on the list are BIG EAST foes, Syracuse at No. 6, Georgetown at No. 7 and Loyola (Md.) at No. 14. Joining those three are Vanderbilt (No. 12), Boston University (No. 12), Dartmouth (No. 16) and Ohio State (No. 19). A fourth BIG EAST team, Louisville also received votes.
Notre Dame is coming off a 2009 season that saw them go 16-5 overall with a 5-2 mark in the BIG EAST. The Irish captured their first-ever BIG EAST title last April with wins over Syracuse and Georgetown in the conference tournament. Notre Dame advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year – a first in the program’s history – and the fifth time overall. There, the Irish advanced to the quarterfinals, losing at North Carolina. They finished the season with their highest ever ranking in the IWLCA final poll sixth.
In January, Notre Dame was ranked ninth in the Lacrosse Magazine preseason poll.
Head coach Tracy Coyne enters her 14th season guiding the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team. The Irish open the 2010 season on Tuesday, Feb. 23 when they travel to Hempstead, N.Y., for the season opener against Hofstra at 3:30 p.m.
Notre Dame opens the home schedule on Saturday, Feb. 27 when the Irish play host to Duquesne University at the Loftus Center in a 6:00 p.m. contest.
Inside Lacrosse Division I Weekly Media Poll (Preseason)
2009 record Points (1st)1. Northwestern 23-0 220 (12)2. Maryland 21-1 2073. Pennsylvania 15-3 1924. North Carolina 16-5 1905. Duke 15-6 1736. Syracuse 14-5 1577. Georgetown 13-6 1508. Notre Dame 16-5 1449. Princeton 14-4 13810. Virginia 11-8 12811. Vanderbilt 10-7 10812. Boston University 15-4 9613. Stanford 14-4 8714. Loyola (Md.) 11-6 6915. Penn State 9-8 5116. Dartmouth 8-8 4717. Towson 13-6 4418. Cornell 9-7 2819. Ohio State 11-6 2420. New Hampshire 12-7 22
Also receiving votes: William & Mary, 11; Florida, 8; Louisville, 3; Harvard, 3; Fairfield, 3; Old Dominion, 3; James Madison, 2; Colgate, 2.