May 9, 2004

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland women's lacrosse team earned the third seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Terps will play host to Temple in the first round on Thursday, May 13, at 4 p.m. at Ludwig Field. Advance tickets for Thursday's game will be available Monday, May 10, at the Maryland Ticket Office located in Comcast Center.

The two teams met in the first round of last year's tournament, with the Terps winning decisively, 26-6. Should the Terps win, Maryland would likely play host to the winner of the Duke-Georgetown game on Sunday, May 16.

The winners of the four quarterfinal games will advance to the semifinals and final May 21 and 23. The semifinals and final will be played at Princeton Stadium on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey.

Maryland (14-4) will be making its 20th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Terps are winners of 10 national titles.

"This is an exciting day for us," head coach Cindy Timchal said. "We're happy to be the tournament's third seed and now we just have to prepare for Temple. The entire field looks very good and it should be a great tournament."

Princeton, who will enter the tournament unbeaten, earned the top seed. ACC champ Virginia is the second seed, and Loyola is the fourth seed. Click here to view the entire NCAA bracket.

Quotes from Head Coach Cindy Timchal and players regarding the upcoming tournament:

Head Coach Cindy Timchal: On being a No. 3 seed in the tournament:
"We are very happy about it, and it just shows the respect the committee has for our schedule and the way we've been playing. I'm excited for the team, we've worked hard, and we know that we have our work cut out for us."

Junior attacker Jessica Dorney
Overall thoughts on the tournament:
"We are hoping for the best in the tournament, and we have a tough road to get to the final four and win the championship, but at the end, we'll have fought the hardest."

On facing Temple:
"We were successful against Temple last year, and I know that they are going to come back and try to get a little revenge against us. We just need to play our game and come into the game confidently. They are in the tournament for a reason."

On getting a top seed:
"We were ranked No. 3, and it was good to get the respect and get that seed. You're always nervous about who you are going to play, but in the end you are going to play hard teams. It doesn't really matter who we are playing, it's about how we play."

Junior defender Greta Sommers
Overall thoughts about the tournament:
"I'm excited about where we are. We played well against Temple last year, and if we would win, it's going to be a very difficult second-round game against either Georgetown or Duke."