May 7, 2006

College Park, Md. - The University of Maryland men's lacrosse team has been selected as the No. 2 seed in the 2006 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament. The Terps will host Denver in the first round at Byrd Stadium, Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.

"This is a tremendous compliment to our seniors," said Maryland head coach Dave Cottle, "to have earned a top four seed in each of their four seasons. Hopefully we can play our best lacrosse at the end of the season."

The Terps, 10-4 on the season, were awarded one of 10 at-large bids to the tournament. Maryland is listed with having played the toughest schedule in the nation, according to College PRI. That same service rated the Terps fourth in the RPI.

This marks the third time that Maryland has earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Maryland was previously a No. 2 seed in 1979 and 1996. In 1979, the Terps reached the national championship game, but lost to No. 1 seed Johns Hopkins, 15-9. In 1996 Maryland lost to Hopkins again in the quarterfinal round, 9-7.

The Terrapins have never faced Denver in the NCAA Tournament, but have played the Pioneers twice. Maryland won each of those games, 13-5 in College Park in 1999 and 10-7 at Denver's Pioneer Face-Off Classic in 2001.

Maryland is making its 29th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which is tied for second all-time with this year's top-seed Virginia. The Pioneers will be making their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

Denver, which earned an automatic bid into the tournament by winning the Great Western Lacrosse League title, finished the season with seven straight victories. The Pioneers finished the regular season with a 12-4 record and were ranked 12th in the latest Inside Lacrosse media poll. They are also 11th in the RPI and 42nd in strength of schedule, according to the College RPI.

Tickets for the Maryland-Denver game can be purchased through the Maryland Ticket Office at 1-800-IMA-TERP (1-800-462-8377). Tickets prices are $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for students.

The winner of the Maryland/Denver game will meet the winner of the Princeton/UMBC first round game in the quarterfinals on Sunday, May 21, at Towson's Unitas Stadium.

Tournament Breakdown:
Ivy (4): Cornell (AQ), Princeton, Harvard, Pennsylvania
ACC (2): Virginia, Maryland
ECAC (2): Georgetown, Massachusetts
Great Western Lacrosse League (2): Denver (AQ), Notre Dame
Independent (2): Johns Hopkins, Syracuse
America East (1): UMBC (AQ)
CAA (1): Hofstra (AQ)
MAAC (1): Providence (AQ)
Patriot League (1): Navy (AQ)

For the complete bracket, log on to http://ncaasports.com/lacrosse/mens.