BALTIMORE — The US Lacrosse Women's Division National Tournament (WDNT) is returning to Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., for the sixth consecutive year. The tournament, which annually brings together the nation’s top players to participate in high school and club divisions, will be held on Memorial Day Weekend from 27-28, 2006.

The decision was voted on during a conference call of the US Lacrosse Women's Division Board of Governors Executive Committee on Dec. 1.

Due to a date shift of the NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship to the same weekend as the US Lacrosse WDNT, US Lacrosse sought to find a site in close proximity to this year's NCAA championship at Boston University.

US Lacrosse issued proposals to 23 potential sites, but no acceptable facilities were available to handle the needs of the US Lacrosse WDNT, which traditionally uses as many as 12 fields at one time. Last year's US Lacrosse WDNT featured 65 teams competing in the two-day event.

"Despite all of our best efforts, and in particular the efforts of Women's Division Board of Governor members Beth Stone, Meghan McDonogh and the leadership of the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association over the last 18 months, we just couldn't find the right fit," said Ann Kitt Carpenetti, Women's Division Director for US Lacrosse. "We're fortunate to be able to return to such a fantastic facility at Lehigh. They’ve been a great host for our event over the last several years and we're confident that we'll have a successful event in 2006."

US Lacrosse is committed to working with the NCAA to find a mutually-agreeable site for the NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship and the US Lacrosse WDNT in 2007. A copy of the request for proposal for facilities to bid for the 2007 and 2008 US Lacrosse WDNT is available on the US Lacrosse Web site at http://www.lacrosse.org/events/pdf/rfp_wdnt_0708.pdf. Information on bidding to host the 2007 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship is available on the NCAA Web site at www.ncaa.org.

US Lacrosse, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the national governing body for men's and women's lacrosse. To learn more about the organization, please visit www.uslacrosse.org.

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