Vol. 19, No. 30 |
May 10, 2000 |
Hens in NCCA women's lax tourney; coach wins 100th
 For the first time since 1984, the University of Delaware women's lacrosse team is headed back to the NCAA Tournament.The Blue Hens (13-4), whose hopes for an NCAA bid were dampened after a 12-9 loss to Hofstra in the America East semifinals May 3, learned Sunday evening that Delaware will travel to Loyola (14-4) for a first round NCAA game today, May 11, in Baltimore. The game time will be at 4 p.m. at Loyola's Curley Field, and tickets can be purchased at the gate. There will be live play-by-play radio coverage on WVUD 91.3 FM with Dustin Bixby and Brian Smith. The Delaware-Loyola winner will advance to the quarterfinals on Sunday, May 14, at No. 4 seed North Carolina (12-5) in Chapel Hill. The rest of the 12-team field will include Syracuse (12-3) traveling to Georgetown (11-4), with the winner taking on top seed and defending champion Maryland (18-1) Sunday; America East champion Boston University (15-3) traveling to Virginia (12-5), with the winner playing at No. 3 seed James Madison (12-4); and Dartmouth (11-4) traveling to Duke (10-5), with the winner playing the No. 2 seed Princeton. The semifinals and finals will be played May 19-21 at the College of New Jersey in Ewing Township. This is Delaware's seventh national tournament appearance, and its first since 1984, when the Hens placed third by winning the NCAA consolation game. Delaware won national titles in 1981 and 1982 under head coach Janet Smith when the team played as part of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) and in 1983 in NCAA Division I. UD's tournament bid comes on the heels of another women's lacrosse milestone: Coach Denise Wescott gained her 100th career victory when the Blue Hens defeated Hofstra University 14-11 on April 20. Wescott is just the seventh active NCAA Division I head coach to achieve this 100-win milestone. America East coach of the year in 1996 and 1998, Wescott was, after that win, 100-73 in her 11th season of college coaching, including a 78-42 mark at UD.  Under Wescott, the Blue Hens have put together an impressive run during the last three seasons, beginning in 1997, when they earned a No. 15 IWLCA ranking with a 12-6 season and an America East title. During the next two seasons, the Blue Hens repeated as America East champions with a combined 27-9 record.An All-American from Moorestown, N. J., Wescott began her collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant field hockey coach at Michigan State in 1980, before assuming head-coaching duties at Drew University in 1989. After a three-year stint as head coach at Rutgers University, she came to UD in 1994, when the Blue Hens posted an 11-7 record and a No. 12 ranking in the NCAA polls. A successful coach with international experience, Wescott has served as coach of the German national teams and in the summer of 1993 she directed lacrosse camps in Japan.
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