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  	Losses
1	Maryland	236 (8)	        17	1
2	Northwestern	231 (4)	        15	1
3	North Carolina	217		14	2
4	Pennsylvania	194		14	3
5	Virginia	190		14	4
6	Duke		181		12	5
7	James Madison	177		14	2
8	Towson		152		13	3
9	Georgetown	140		11	5
10	Dartmouth	128		11	4
11	Vanderbilt	119		11	4
12	Syracuse	117		12	5
13	Notre Dame	92		10	6
14	Loyola (Md.)	81		11	6
15	Stanford	80		14	5
16	Hofstra_	59		11	5
17	Albany		48		13	2
18	Boston College	31		12	5
19	Denver		23		13	5
20	Navy		10		16	3

Also Receiving Votes
Johns Hopkins 9, Penn State 3, Louisville 2

## Go Navy! ##