May 10, 2004

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The No. 3 Maryland men's lacrosse team will host Army in the NCAA Tournament First Round this Saturday, May 15 at Byrd Stadium. Face-off is set for 7:30 p.m. Online tickets are available on umterps.com or by calling the ticket office at 301-314-7070. The Maryland/Army winner will play the winner of No. 6 Princeton/Rutgers on Saturday, May 22 at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va.

First-Round Games
Saturday, May 15
Providence (9-7) at No. 1 Johns Hopkins (11-1)
Ohio State (12-3) at No. 8 North Carolina (9-4), 1 p.m.
Army (10-4) at No. 3 Maryland (12-2), 7:30 p.m.
Rutgers (8-5) at No. 6 Princeton (9-3)

Sunday, May 16
Towson (11-4) at No. 5 Georgetown (10-3)
Albany (10-5) at No. 4 Syracuse (11-2)
Hobart (9-6) at No. 7 Cornell (8-4)
Pennsylvania (7-6) at No. 2 Navy (12-2)

Quarterfinals
Saturday, May 22 at Charlottesville, Va.
Games at Noon and 3 p.m.
Johns Hopkins/Providence Winner vs. Ohio State/North Carolina Winner
Maryland/Army Winner vs. Princeton/Rutgers Winner

Sunday, May 23 at Ithaca, N.Y.
Games at Noon and 3 p.m.
Georgetown/Towson Winner vs. Syracuse/Albany Winner
Cornell/Hobart Winner vs. Navy/Pennsylvania Winner

Semifinals
Saturday, May 29
M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Md., 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., ESPN2

Championship Game
Monday, May 31
M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Md., 2:30 p.m., ESPN

Tournament Notes

* Maryland and Army have not played since 1993, when the Black Knights beat the Terps 15-11 in the NCAA Tournament First Round at West Point. Overall, the series is tied 19-19, but all of those meetings prior to the 1993 game, were from 1924-1976.

* The Terps come into the tournament with a 12-2 record, marking the sixth time in school history they have won at least 12 games. The 12 regular-season wins was one short of the school record of 13, set in 2001. The Terps also won 12 regular-season games in 1987, when they entered the tournament at 12-0.

* Maryland will make its 27th NCAA Tournament appearance this season, the second most of any school in the nation. Only Johns Hopkins (32nd bid in 2004) has played in more NCAA Tournament events since it began in 1971.

* The Terps will be seeking their first NCAA Tournament championship since 1975 and only third-ever with the other coming in 1973. Only six other schools have ever won the NCAA Championship: Syracuse (8), Johns Hopkins (7), Princeton (6), North Carolina (4), Cornell (3), Virginia (3).

* The Terps have won the third-most Division I NCAA Tournament games, compiling a 34-24 overall record in 58 games. Only Johns Hopkins (50-25) and Syracuse (44-16) have won more Division I games.

* Maryland is fifth by percentage (.586) among all teams ever to play in the tournament (Princeton, Syracuse, Johns Hopkins and Cornell are ahead).

* Last season, the Terps reached the NCAA Tournament Semifinals after beating Ohio State (8-5 in the first round) and Massachusetts (13-7 in the quarterfinals) before losing to eventual champion Virginia (14-4) in the semifinals at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

* The Terps are the third seed in the tournament for the second year in a row. It is the seventh time ever the Terps are the No. 3 seed and third time in four years. Maryland was previously a No. 3 seed in 1971, 1975, 1977, 1978, 2001 and 2003.

* The last time Maryland won the NCAA championship in 1975, the Terps were seeded No. 3. In 12 games as the No. 3 seed, Maryland has a 9-5 record.

* This will be Dave Cottle's second NCAA Tournament appearance as the head coach of Maryland. He is coaching his 16th team to the NCAA Tournament, with the first 14 coming during his stint at Loyola. All of the Loyola bids came consecutively starting with the 1988 season and going through the 2001 campaign. Overall, Cottle is 10-15 in NCAA Tournament games, which ranks him fifth among all active coaches. Only Princeton's Bill Tierney (26-8), Virginia's Dom Starsia (19-14), Syracuse's John Desko (13-3) , and Towson's Tony Seaman (12-16) have more tournament wins to their credit than Cottle.

* With his 16th tournament appearance, Cottle now ranks tied for fourth all-time in most NCAA Tournament Division I appearances as a head coach behind only Syracuse's Roy Simmons Jr. (19), former Maryland coach Dick Edell (17), Towson's Tony Seaman (17 in 2004) and Virginia's Dom Starsia (16). With his streak of 14 consecutive tournaments while at Loyola, Cottle is second only to Simmons Jr. (19), for the longest consecutive steak.