April 13, 2004
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team continues its climb in the national rankings this week as the Irish have moved to second in the nation in both the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll and in the Inside Lacrosse magazine rankings.
Off to the best start in the program’s eight-year history (10-0, 3-0 in BIG EAST), the Irish have now won 14 straight games, including the final four of the 2003 season. The number two ranking is the highest the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team has ever been ranked since the program started in 1997.
“It’s nice to get this kind of recognition and is a tribute to our players for all the hard work and effort that they have put in this season,” said Irish head coach Tracy Coyne.
“Part of our success this year has been being able to focus on our next opponent and that’s what we’ll continue to do. The players know that our biggest tests of the season are ahead of us and we have to continue to focus on our preseason goals – winning the BIG EAST and making the NCAA tournament.”
This season, the Irish started the year ranked 17th in the preseason and moved up to 12th after the opening weekend sweep at California and Stanford. The Irish remained 12th for two weeks before knocking off second-ranked Duke and sixth-ranked James Madison the week ending March 14th. They moved to third in both polls on March 16 and have been there until moving to second behind top-ranked and undefeated Princeton (11-0), winners of 20 straight games.
Prior to this season, the highest the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse program has ever been rated was 7th at the end of the 2002 season and again in the 2003 preseason.
The Irish and their number-two ranking will face its toughest test right off the bat this coming weekend when they travel to Washington, D.C. to face the fifth-ranked Georgetown Hoyas in a 1:00 p.m. (EDT) game. The Hoyas are 8-2 on the season and 4-0 in the BIG EAST. Notre Dame has never beaten Georgetown in the four games in the all-time series. Last season, the Irish lost to the Hoyas at Moose Krause Stadium, 16-15 in overtime.
For the season, Notre Dame has played four ranked teams to date and owns a 4-0 mark in those games.