DATE: April 29, 2003
CONTACT: Paul Krome (pkrome@uslacrosse.org)

US LACROSSE MEN'S AND WOMEN'S DIVISIONS INTERCOLLEGIATE ASSOCIATES ANNOUNCE BIDS TO 2003 IA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

BALTIMORE — The US Lacrosse Men's and Women's Divisions Intercollegiate Associates Councils have selected 16 men's and eight women's intercollegiate associates (IA) teams to compete for the 2003 US Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates National Championships next week in St. Louis, Mo., as announced yesterday. The 24 teams will gather May 7-10 at the Anheuser-Busch Center to play in respective Men's Division (MDIA) and Women's Division (WDIA) Intercollegiate Associates national championship tournaments.

UC Santa Barbara (18-1 overall), champion of the Western Collegiate Lacrosse League (WCLL), earned the top seed for the men's tournament. UCLA, champion of the Western Women's Lacrosse League (WWLL), used its 15-1 overall record to secure the women's top seed.

“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 event one of the most anticipated events each year.”

The US Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates comprise a group of traditional college club lacrosse programs from virtually every region of the country. More than 160 men's IA teams competed this year in nine conferences, the champions of which were crowned at conference tournaments last weekend and received automatic bids to St. Louis. The US Lacrosse MDIA Council awarded seven at-large bids yesterday to round out the field of 16 vying for the seventh annual men's IA national championship. Defending champion Sonoma State qualified as the third seed.

Better than 100 women's IA teams compete in eight conferences. Four league champions received automatic bids to the national championship. The US Lacrosse WDIA Council awarded four at-large bids Monday to determine the field of eight that will compete for the third annual women's IA national championship. Two-time defending champion Cal Poly, 7-0 all-time in WDIA tournament play, earned a No. 2 seed after falling to rival UCLA in the WWLL finals.

The 24 teams represent 12 states and British Columbia. The 2003 US Lacrosse IA National Championships, presented by STX, Lax World, and Sports Her Way, also will include free girls and boys youth lacrosse clinics at the Anheuser-Busch Center as part of championship Saturday.

MDIA and WDIA tournament seeds, team records, and invitations are listed below. For more information, visit the 2003 US Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates National Championships homepage.

2003 US Lacrosse Men's Division Intercollegiate Associates National Championship Seeds

1.UC Santa Barbara, 18-1, Western Collegiate Lacrosse League Champion

2.Colorado State, 14-2, Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Lacrosse League Champion

3.Sonoma State, 15-2, at-large

4.Michigan, 14-4, Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association Champion

5.BYU, 11-5, at-large

6.Colorado, 11-6, at-large

7.Texas A&M, 18-3, Lone Star Alliance Champion

8.Florida, 14-3, SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference Champion

9.Minnesota-Duluth, 16-2, Upper Midwest Lacrosse League Champion

10.Chico State, 11-3, at-large

11.Simon Fraser University, 12-1, Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League Champion

12.Chapman University, 12-4, at-large

13.Oakland University, 11-2, at-large

14.Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, 9-7, at-large

15.Boston College, 11-1, Pioneer Collegiate Lacrosse League Champion

16.Washington University in St. Louis, 8-4, Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference Champion

2003 US Lacrosse Women's Division Intercollegiate Associates National Championship Seeds

1.UCLA, 15-1, Western Women's Lacrosse League Champion

2.Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, 17-2, at-large

3.Michigan, 17-2, Women's Collegiate Lacrosse League Champion

4.Navy, 10-5, East Coast Women's Lacrosse Association Champion

5.Texas A&M, 13-0, at-large

6.Virginia Tech, 11-1, at-large

7.Pittsburgh, 17-1, at-large

8.Florida, 11-0, Southeastern Women's Lacrosse League Champion

US Lacrosse, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the national governing body of men's and women's lacrosse. To learn more, visit its web site at www.uslacrosse.org.

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