May 3, 2010

BALTIMORE, Md. - Fresh off claiming its first Patriot League championship, the upstart Navy women's lacrosse program has achieved yet another significant milestone - it's first national ranking.

The Midshipmen, who have won a school-record 16 games this spring, are ranked No. 20 in this week's deBeer/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, released earlier today.

The deBeer/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll is voted upon each week by members of the lacrosse media from around the country. There will be one more regular season vote remaining this spring and then a break until after the NCAA tournament.

Navy punctuated its meteoric rise up the Division I ranks by downing two-time defending champion Colgate and top-seeded Lehigh on its home turf over the weekend to earn the 2010 Patriot League Tournament title. The Mids, who are 11-1 at home this spring and 29-4 (.878) all-time in Annapolis, will now host Northeast Conference champion Sacred Heart (14-4) in an NCAA play-in-game this Saturday afternoon at 2:00 pm at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

The winner of that contest will earn a berth into the 2010 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Tournament's 16-team field. This spring's championship gets underway with first-round games held on campus sites on Saturday and Sunday, May 15-16.

Maryland (17-1) and five-time defending champion Northwestern (15-1), both whom are candidates to be paired in the NCAA's opening round with the squad that prevails Saturday in Annapolis, hold down the top-two spots in both the media and IWLCA top-20 polls.

Live video through Navy All-Access and live statistics via GameTracker on www.NavySports.com will be available for Saturday's contest. As always, fans are also encouraged to follow the official Navy Athletics Twitter for breaking news, in-game updates and more at twitter.com/navyathletics(.)

Inside Lacrosse Division I Women's Media Poll (May 3)Rk.     Team          Pts (1st Pl)    Wins      Losses1   Maryland    236 (8)         17  12   Northwestern    231 (4)         15  13   North Carolina  217     14  24   Pennsylvania    194     14  35   Virginia    190     14  46   Duke        181     12  57   James Madison   177     14  28   Towson      152     13  39   Georgetown  140     11  510  Dartmouth   128     11  411  Vanderbilt  119     11  412  Syracuse    117     12  513  Notre Dame  92      10  614  Loyola (Md.)    81      11  615  Stanford    80      14  516  Hofstra_    59      11  517  Albany      48      13  218  Boston College  31      12  519  Denver      23      13  520  Navy        10      16  3

Also Receiving VotesJohns Hopkins 9, Penn State 3, Louisville 2

## Go Navy! ##