US Lacrosse Announces Men's And Women's Fields For Intercollegiate Associates National Championships

Baltimore — US Lacrosse will welcome 16 men's teams and eight women's teams to the 2002 US Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates National Championships, May 8-11 in St. Louis, Mo. US Lacrosse Men's and Women's Intercollegiate Associates councils have announced their respective tournament fields for the sixth annual event, to be held at the Anheuser-Busch Center.

Sonoma (Calif.) State locked up the No. 1 seed on the men's side, posting a 19-1 record and capturing the program's second consecutive Western Collegiate Lacrosse League championship. Defending champion Cal Poly earned the top seed for the women's tourney. The Mustangs are 17-1 and represent the Western Women's Lacrosse League.

"The US Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates National Championships represents one of the fastest-growing and most exciting lacrosse traditions in the country," said Steve Stenersen, executive director of US Lacrosse. "The ongoing efforts of dedicated volunteers, both on the national level with our associates councils and on the local level with the St. Louis Chapter of US Lacrosse, have made this the great event that it is today."

The men are returning to St. Louis for the sixth consecutive year, while the women debuted their championship tournament last year. The men's IA council awarded automatic bids to eight conference champions and invited another eight at-large teams. The women's IA council invited five league winners, two teams that finished second in their conferences, and one independent.

"This year's tournament field has many compelling first round matchups," said Doug Horn, tournament director and third vice president of the Men's Division Intercollegiate Associates Council. "I'm excited to see four different programs participate in this year's tournament that were not here last year. I'm sure we will see several high-powered offenses compete with hard-hitting defensive teams in St. Louis. These matchups should make for exciting contests to watch."

"We're thrilled to be back in St. Louis for our second annual tournament," said Erin Brown, US Lacrosse Women's Division Director. "We have nation-wide representation in our eight teams, which comprise a very competitive field that will challenge defending champion Cal Poly for the 2002 championship."

Opening round men's games will face off Wednesday, May 8, while the women's tournament will begin Friday, May 10. Championship games are slated for Saturday, May 11. Tournament admission for fans is free except on championship day, when adults will be admitted for $5 and children under 12 for $3. All MDIA and WDIA players and coaches will be admitted to the championship games free of charge. LaxWorld, Sports Her Way and STX are serving as presenting sponsors of the championships.

A total of 15 states are represented by the 24 participating institutions. Men's and women's seedings are listed below. For complete coverage of the championships, visit the US Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates web site at www.uslia.com.

The US Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates comprise a group of traditional college club programs from virtually every region of the country. There are more than 140 men's intercollegiate associate teams this year and better than 100 women's teams. Colorado State defeated Stanford to win last year's men's championship and Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo defeated Navy to win the inaugural women's championship.

US Lacrosse Men's Division Intercollegiate Associates National Championship Seedings
1. Sonoma (Calif.) State (19-1), Western Collegiate Lacrosse League Champion
2. Auburn (15-0), SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference Champion
3. Colorado State (14-4), Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Lacrosse League Champion
4. Michigan (16-2), Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association Champion
5. BYU (15-4), Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Lacrosse League
6. Stanford (9-6), Western Collegiate Lacrosse League at-large
7. California-Santa Barbara (13-5), Western Collegiate Lacrosse League at-large
8. Arizona (15-3), Western Collegiate Lacrosse League at-large
9. California-Berkeley (13-5), Western Collegiate Lacrosse League at-large
10. Buffalo (12-4), Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association at-large
11. Texas A&M (15-6), Lone Star Alliance Champion
12. Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo (11-4), Western Collegiate Lacrosse League at-large
13. Virginia Tech (11-6), SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference at-large
14. Washington (15-0), Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League Champion
15. Minnesota-Duluth (15-1), Upper Midwest Lacrosse League Champion
16. New Hampshire (10-2), Pioneer Collegiate Lacrosse League Champion

US Lacrosse Women's Division Intercollegiate Associates National Championship Seedings
1. Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo (17-1), Western Women's Lacrosse League
2. Air Force (9-1), Independent at-large
3. Georgia (12-0), Southeastern Women's Lacrosse League Champion
4. Navy (12-3), East Coast Women's Lacrosse League Champion
5. Texas (11-1), Texas Women's Lacrosse League Champion
6. Michigan (13-2), National Collegiate Lacrosse League Champion
7. Delaware (9-2-1), East Coast Women's Lacrosse League at-large
8. Michigan State (11-2-1), National Collegiate Lacrosse League at-large

US Lacrosse, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization, is the national governing body of men's and women's lacrosse.

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