June 4, 2012

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame women’s lacrosse players Margaret Smith and Barbara Sullivan have advanced to the second and final round of qualifying for a spot on the 2012-14 U.S. women’s national team, U.S. Lacrosse announced recently.

The Irish duo will head to the campus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in Catonsville, Md., on July 27 for the three-day tryout.

Following the second round of tryouts, 36-40 players will be selected. This group also will serve as the training team pool for the U.S. women’s national team, which will defend its 2009 gold medal at the 2013 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Cup in Oshawa, Canada. The final 18-player World Cup roster is expected to be announced in February 2013.

Smith, a rising junior, is coming off a sensational sophomore campaign that saw her earn first team all-BIG EAST, IWLCA first team West/Midwest All-Region and IWLCA third team All-America accolades, while leading the team in draw controls with 47. She also finished second on the team with 37 ground balls and 31 caused turnovers.

Rising junior Margaret Smith has advanced to the final round of qualifying for the 2012-14 U.S. National Team.

“Attending these tryouts has provided me an incredible opportunity to play with players from other schools that are really talented,”” said Smith. “”It is exciting to make it through to the second round where the competition will only be harder. I look forward to playing with Barb again at the highest level.”

Sullivan, a rising sophomore, is looking to make the national team after being a part of the gold-medal winning 2011 U.S. women’s national under-19 team at last summer’s U-19 Women’s Lacrosse World Championship in Hanover, Germany.

In her first season with the Irish, the Garden City, N.Y., product was named second team all-BIG EAST and IWLCA first team West/Midwest all-region and also earned a spot on the Synapse Sports All-Rookie team. Sullivan led the team in ground balls with 40 and caused turnovers with 32, while finishing second in draw controls with 32.

“It is an amazing honor to be pushed through to the second round and I am excited to get the opportunity to play with the best of the best,” said Sullivan. “It is going to be a great growing opportunity for myself, and to be able to do it with Marge is even better. I think playing on the U-19 team last summer helps me understand what an honor it is to represent your country and it helps motivate me to work hard to hopefully be able to wear the jersey again at some point in my lacrosse career.”

Overall, 143 players representing 34 institutions participated in open tryouts at the U.S. Lacrosse National Tournament, held May 25-27 in Stony Brook, N.Y. These individuals competed in the Stars and Stripes division and each played four games over the course of the weekend as the U.S. women’s national team coaching staff, led by head coach Ricky Fried, and the U.S. women’s national team selection committee, chaired by Anne Phillips, evaluated the field.

In total, 38 players were advanced to the second round of tryouts. Returning members of the 2011-12 U.S. women’s national team, as well as those waived through the first round of tryouts will join them. Individuals that have been waived through the initial tryout include NCAA championship weekend participants, first-team Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) All-Americans and those declared medically unable to play over Memorial Day weekend.

Players That Qualified For Second Round Of Tryouts
Stephanie Anderson, M (Rutgers ’13)
Kelly Barnes, D (Georgetown ’12)
Sarah Boucher, M (Queens ’13)
Dana Cahill, G (Penn State ’12)
Tatum Coffey, M (Penn State ’15)*
Rhiannon Coogle, A (Towson ’14)
Taylor D’Amore, A (Johns Hopkins ’14)
Alyssa Dunlap, D (Vanderbilt ’14)
Daniela Eppler, D (Virginia ’15)
Cortney Fortunato, A (Northport High School ’13)*
Taylor Frink, A (Albany ’11)
Kelsey Gahan, D (Virginia ’15)
Kellye Gallagher, D (Loyola ’12)
Loren Generi, A (Navy ’15)
Emma Hamm, A (Duke ’12)**
Kelsey Henshaw, M (Navy ’14)
Liz Hogan, G (Syracuse ’11)
Madeleine Keeshan, D (Virginia ’14)
Alyssa Kildare, D (Johns Hopkins ’12)***
Anna Kim, M (Stanford ’14)
Ashley Kimener, M (James Madison ’12)
Emily Leitner, G (Penn ’12)
Megan Marinelli, D (Georgetown ’15)
Josie Owen, A (Virginia ’12)**
Claire Petersen, A (Stony Brook ’13)
Mallory Poole, M (C.W. Post ’08)***
Mikaela Rix, M (Boston College ’15)*
Lauren Schmidt, M (Stanford ’11)***
Jaclyn Sileo, A (C.W. Post ’13)
Margaret Smith, D (Notre Dame ’14)
Morgan Stephens, M (Virginia ’15)
Barbara Sullivan, D (Notre Dame ’15)*
Courtney Swan, A (Virginia ’15)
Caroline Tarzian, A (Georgetown ’15)
Mary Teeters, G (Towson ’12)
Gina Valles, M (Roanoke ’11)
Taylor Virden, D (Duke ’14)
Brittany Wilton, A (Boston College ’12)

* Member of the 2011 U.S. women’s national under-19 team
** Member of the 2007 U.S. women’s national under-19 team
*** Member of the 2010-11 U.S. women’s national senior team

–ND–