May 6, 2008

DENVER -- The college lacrosse tournament season opens on Wednesday morning with the first round of the US Lacrosse Women's Division Intercollegiate Associates National Championship from Denver.

Cal Poly has dominated the event, which crowns the women's college club national champion, since its inception in 2001. The Mustangs have gone a perfect 25-0 and won all seven championships. However, the Mustangs are in unfamiliar territory this year, coming in as the No. 5 seed after losing in the Western Women's Lacrosse League final to UC Santa Barbara.

UCSB, under first-year head coach Paul Ramsey, is undefeated with a 16-0 record, but had several challenges during the season. The Gauchos needed overtime to beat Cal Poly in the WWLL final and Colorado State also took UCSB to overtime early in the season. Santa Clara also played UCSB to within a goal in early March.

Colorado and Colorado State, playing in their home state, also figure to be in the title hunt. CSU went 19-1, losing just the overtime game to UCSB, and is the No. 2 seed. Colorado, the No. 3 seed, was 12-3 this season with two losses to CSU, including two weeks ago in overtime, and a loss to UCSB.

Michigan has a new mentor with former coach Mary Ann Meltzer starting up the program at Detroit Mercy, but the Wolverines didn't miss a beat, going 14-3. The three losses came against UCSB, CSU and Colorado, but Michigan played a very tough schedule, going 7-3 against teams in the field.

UCSB should also get a challenge from its WWLL rivals, including Cal Poly and Santa Clara. Cal Poly lost six games this year, but its hard to argue with its past success. Santa Clara, a past finalist in this event, went 13-3.

The 2008 US Lacrosse WDIA National Championship is sponsored by Brine. Sports Her Way is the official retailer for the event.

GAME SCHEDULE
1st round games from Dick's Sporting Goods Park
10 a.m. - #2 Colorado State v. #15 Minnesota
10 a.m. - #7 Pitt v. #10 Virginia Tech
11 a.m. - #3 Colorado v. #14 Army
11 a.m. - #6 Santa Clara v. #11 Texas A&M
1 p.m. - #1 UC Santa Barbara v. #16 Boston College
1 p.m. - #8 Lindenwood v. #9 UCLA
2 p.m. - #4 Michigan v. #13 Georgia
2 p.m. - #5 Cal Poly v. #12 Michigan State