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University of Maryland Athletics

Women's Lacrosse Game Notes

Women's Lacrosse Game Notes

April 17, 2002

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  • The University of Maryland women's lacrosse team heads to Durham, N.C., this weekend for the 2002 Atlantic Coast Conference women's lacrosse tournament. The event is hosted by Duke University and the Terps are slated to take on top-seeded Virginia in the first action of the tourney on Friday at 1:00 p.m.

  • This week will play a large role in Maryland's postseason aspirations as no team the Terps would play this weekend is ranked lower than seventh. The Terrapins, this year's preseason No. 1, are currently 8-6 on the season and ranked 12th in the latest IWLCA poll. Their opening-round opponent, Virginia, entered the week with an 11-2 record and a No. 3 national ranking.

  • The Terrapins are coming off of a strong week of play that saw them snap a three-game losing streak going in. Last Wednesday, Maryland posted its best offensive performance of the season in a 21-11 win over William & Mary before handing then-No. 17 Johns Hopkins a five-goal loss on their home turf in Baltimore on Saturday.

  • Maryland entered 2002 as the seven-time defending national champion and the winningest team in the history of women's lacrosse. The Terps were a perfect 23-0 a year ago, winning the ACC and national title in the process while winning more games than any team ever in a single season.

    Tournament Notes

  • Maryland heads into the 2002 Atlantic Coast Conference tournament with an 0-3 conference record for the first time in its six years in the conference. All is not as bad as it seems, however, as the combined margin of defeat in its three losses comes to a sum of four goals (one-goal losses to Duke and Virginia and a two-goal loss to North Carolina).

  • The Terrapins have won all but one of the five previous ACC tournaments in which they have played. The lone loss came in the 1998 season, as the Terps were handed a 12-10 loss in the semifinals by UNC.

  • Last year, Maryland beat Virginia (7-6) and Duke (15-12) at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex en route to its fourth tournament title.

  • The Terps have squared off with Virginia four previous times in the ACC tournament -- twice in the semifinals (2000 and 2001) and twice in the finals (1997 and 1999). Maryland has won all four previous meetings.

    Timchal Wins No. 200 at Maryland

  • Head coach Cindy Timchal is in her 12th season at the helm of the Maryland women's lacrosse program in 2001. In her 11-plus years, she has established one of the most dominant teams in all of collegiate athletics as the Terrapins are 200-18 (.917) under her guidance, have earned 11 NCAA Tournament bids and have taken the crown eight times.

  • With a win last Saturday over Johns Hopkins, Timchal has now won 200 games in her career at Maryland, an average of almost 17 wins per season. By comparison, in the 17 years prior to Timchal's arrival, only three times had a Maryland team won more than 15 games in any season.

  • Timchal was selected as the '01 ACC Coach of the Year, her third time earning the honor. She has been chosen as National Coach of the Year twice and has coached 36 Terrapins to All-American status.

  • Now in her 21st season of coaching collegiate athletics overall, Timchal got her start at Northwestern where she led the Wildcats to the NCAA tournament five times in nine years. Her overall record (Maryland and Northwestern) currently stands at 276-58 (.826).

  • With the Terps' win in the 2001 title game, Timchal became the winningest coach in the history of women's collegiate lacrosse. With the Terrapins' win over Princeton in the semifinals, she tied the record of William Smith's Pat Genovese, who led all coaches with 267 wins. With Maryland's win in the title game, Timchal moved to 268 wins for her career.

  • Timchal is assisted by Gary Gait and Cathy Nelson. Gait is one of the most innovative minds in all of lacrosse coaching and widely held as one of the sports greatest players of all time. A 1991 graduate of Syracuse and three-time All-American, he still plays professionally and on the World Cup circuit. Nelson was an outstanding player in her own right as she was a two-time All-American at Maryland and the tournament MVP in the Terps' run to the 1998 national title.

    Timchal's Year-by-Year at Maryland

    1991 NCAA Runners-up 14-3

    1992 NCAA Champions 14-1

    1993 NCAA Semifinalists 12-2

    1994 NCAA Runners-Up 13-1

    1995 NCAA Champions 17-0

    1996 NCAA Champions 19-0

    1997 NCAA Champions 21-1

    1998 NCAA Champions 18-3

    1990 NCAA Champions 21-0

    2000 NCAA Champions 21-1

    2001 NCAA Champions 23-0

    2002 8-6

    11+ Seasons @ Md. 200-18 (.917)

    By the Skin of their Teeth

  • Maryland has lost six games this season, its most since 1989, but there have been plenty of positives to point to in spite of that fact.

  • In their six losses, the Terps have lost by a combined 10 goals with a four-goal loss to No. 1 Georgetown being the largest margin of defeat. That's one two-goal, four one-goal losses and one four-goal loss with all but two of the defeats coming at the hands of Top 10 opposition.

  • That the Terrapins have been unable to pull out some close games may just be a simple sign of their age. For most of the season, Maryland has started six underclassmen (four freshman and two sophomores) while another six have seen action in the games. By comparison, only three underclassmen (Kelly Coppedge, Sonia Judd, Alexis Venechanos) earned starts at any point a year ago and a total of just five saw playing time in more than 10 games.

    Scoring Streaks

  • Recently departed All-Americans Jen Adams and Quinn Carney finished their careers with amazing scoring streaks, streaks that lasted almost the length of their collegiate careers. Adams scored in each of her last 78 games as a Terp while Carney finished her career with a 73-game streak.

  • This season, All-American candidate Courtney Hobbs has the longest running streak as she has scored at least a point in each of the last 41 games. Her last game without a point came against Loyola on April 29, 2000.

  • Kelly Coppedge had the only other significant streak this season, a 13-game run that was snapped when she went without a point at James Madison.

    Shooting Stars

  • Second-year players Kelly Coppedge and Annie Collins have made the most of their scoring opportunities in 2002.

  • Coppedge, a sophomore from Annapolis, has converted 57 percent of the shots she has taken this year (38-of-67) for 38 goals, second most on the team.

  • Collins, a redshirt freshman who missed last year with a knee injury, is seventh on the team in scoring but her 15 goals have come on just 24 shots, leaving her with a .625 shooting percentage.

    New Look Terps

  • After losing eight starters to graduation from last year's NCAA championship team, pundits knew that Maryland would have some fresh faces in the lineup. A look at who has played as the team crosses the season's midpoint would suggest that the Terps' best games are ahead of them.

  • Through 11 games, Maryland has had all nine freshman see action with four (Annie Collins, Kristie Leggio, Greta Sommers, Acacia Walker) appearing as permanent fixtures in the starting lineup.

  • By comparison, only one Terp freshman (Kelly Coppedge) started at any point last season and only one other (Molly Lambert) saw action in 10 games or more.

  • Of Maryland's top seven scorers this year, four are underclassmen.

    Hobbs Up for the Tewaaraton

  • Prior to the 2002 season, 12 nominees were named for this year's Tewaaraton Trophy, an award which recognizes each the best male and female in collegiate lacrosse. The first annual award was presented a year ago to Maryland's Jen Adams. This season, the Terrapins are hoping to have another native Australian capture the award as senior Courtney Hobbs was named one of the 12 nominees.

  • Hobbs, a senior from West Lakes, South Australia, is the leading returning scorer on this year's Terrapin team. Hobbs will be a featured player in the offensive attack and should post career numbers with more touches this season.

    World Cup Terps

  • The 2001 International Federation of Women's Lacrosse Associations' World Cup was played in High Wycombe, England, but that didn't stop the event from having a distinctive Maryland stamp.

  • At the championships, which were won by the United States, a total of 14 former and current Terrapin lacrosse players represented their respective countries. The U.S. team featured eight Terps among its 16 players including Kelly Amonte-Hiller (1996), Erin Brown (1990), Quinn Carney (2001), Randall Flynn (1997), Christie Jenkins (2000), Kristin Sommar (2000), Michele Uhlfelder (1991) and Jess Wilk (1990). In addition, five members of the Australian national team can claim they played at Maryland. Among them were current Terp Courtney Hobbs and former players Jen Adams (2001), Trish Adams, Sarah Forbes (1997) and Sascha Newmarch (1998). Finally, the newest member of this year's team, Laura Warren, was a starting attacker for the Welsh team.

    10th Anniversary for Timchal

  • Last year marked the 20-year anniversary of Maryland's first-ever national championship, the AIAW title of 1981. (The AIAW was the forerunner to the NCAA for competition in women's collegiate athletics). This season marks another milestone, especially for head coach Cindy Timchal, as the 2002 season marks the 10-year anniversary of the Terps' first national title under Timchal.

  • The 1992 Terrapins went 14-1 and started a run of championships that is nearly unparalleled in sports. Since the NCAA win in '92, Maryland has run off eight championships in 10 years, missing only in the 1992 and 1993 seasons.

  • Maryland has won the national championship in eight-of-11 of Timchal's years at the helm and finished worse than second only once (NCAA semifinalists in 1993).

    Captains

  • The captains of this year's Maryland team are seniors Meredith Egan and Courtney Hobbs. The pair were chosen after a vote was conducted by their teammates as representatives of this year's squad.

    In the Rankings

  • A pair of Terps have made their way towards the top of some NCAA statistical categories.

  • As a team, Maryland ranks fourth in the NCAA in scoring offense at 13.6 goals per game while it leads the nation in draw controls with an average of 14.5 per outing.

  • Courtney Hobbs is ranked fifth in the nation in scoring, averaging 4.64 points per game. She also ranked eight nationally in assists per game with 1.86.

  • Sophomore Kelly Coppedge also appears in the NCAA rankings, placing 13th in Division I in points (4.07) and 24th in goals (2.71) per game.

    Local Ties

  • Virginia boasts 12 players from the state of Maryland. That total -- which includes standouts Lauren Aumiller, Cary Chasney and Molly Cangemi -- accounts for nearly 50 percent (48%) of the Cavaliers' roster.

  • Duke has 10 players who call the state of Maryland home. Among the natives of Maryland are captains and All-American candidates Kate Kaiser and Kristen Foster.

  • Blue Devils head coach Kerstin Kimel is a 1993 graduate of the University of Maryland and a former lacrosse All-American with the Terps. She was a member of the 1992 national championship team, Maryland's first under coach Cindy Timchal.

  • North Carolina has 11 players who come from the Old Line State with preseason All-American Kellie Thompson (Grasonville) and fellow attacker Erin McInnes (Baltimore) are among them.

    Scouting the 'HOOS

  • The University of Virginia women's lacrosse team is led by Julie Myers (Virginia, '90), who is in her sixth season with the Cavaliers. Under her guidance, UVa has posted (as of April 16) an impressive 95-33 record.

  • Virginia returned nine starters from last year's team, owns an 11-2 record (as of April 16) and a No. 3 national ranking.

  • Lauren Aumiller has led the way for UVa this year, scoring an ACC-high 75 points behind 50 goals and 25 assists. Freshman Amy Appelt has been one of the top players in the league this year and is second on the team in scoring with 47 points.

  • Andrea Pfeiffer is the Cavaliers' netminder. Through 13 games, her save percentage is .540 after allowing 98 goals and making 115 saves.

  • Series Info: The Maryland/Virginia rivalry is one of the more storied of all of the all-time series of Terp opponents. The Terps own a 26-8 lead in the series which began in 1978 with the Terps losing just two games since 1993. The two teams have played five times in the national finals.

    Scouting the Blue Devils

  • Head coach Kerstin Kimel is in her seventh season at the helm of the Duke women's lacrosse program. Kimel was an All-American at Maryland in 1992 and '93 and a 1993 graduate of the school. In her time at Duke, she has compiled a 67-47 record and has won no less than 10 games in each of the previous four seasons.

  • The Blue Devils started the season strong, opening with five straight wins and working their way to the top spot in the polls. In the last seven games, however, Duke has posted just two wins.

  • Duke has been led in scoring by Lauren Gallagher (25 goals, nine assists) and Kelly Dirks (23 goals, nine assists). As a team, it is struggling somewhat with efficiency as it has a team shooting percentage of .270.

  • Kristen Foster is one of the stronger goalies in the country as she is allowing just 8.27 goals per contest. Her save percentage is .488 this season, but her career average is a strong .539.

  • Series Info: Maryland is 7-2 all-time versus Duke after losing the meeting between the two teams earlier this year. Duke's other win in the series came in 1998 when it upset the Terps, 10-6, also at Durham.

    Scouting the Tar Heels

  • The University of North Carolina women's lacrosse team is led by Jenny Slingluff Levy, who is in her seventh season with the Tar Heels. Under her guidance, UNC has posted (as of April 16) a solid 84-33 record.

  • Through 13 games, UNC has been led in scoring by Lindsay Stone (35 goals, 16 assists) and Kellie Thompson (33 goals, seven assists).

  • Christine McPike and Erin McInnes have also been two of the stronger players in the league as the duo has combined for 71 points with McInnes among the team leaders in shooting percentage (.571).

  • Katelyn Hoffman has spent all but 31 minutes in the goal for the Heels this season. She has just a .443 save percentage, but a tough Carolina defense has helped contribute to a 7.05 goals against average.

  • Series Info: North Carolina has one of the best records of Maryland's all-time opponents as the Tar Heels are 4-7 versus the Terrapins including a 13-11 win at Chapel Hill earlier this year (the lone ACC team to defeat Maryland by more than one goal this year).

    Seventh Heaven

  • Last year's NCAA Tournament signified Maryland's successful run at a seventh straight NCAA title and the school's 10th national championship overall. The Terrapins' current streak of championships began in 1995 and their overall list of titles includes the 1981 (AIAW), '86 and '92 seasons as well.

  • The Terrapins seven consecutive titles is the longest string of any Division I women's team in the nation. Their seventh title matched the feat of John Wooden's UCLA Bruins from 1967-73. The longest current Division I streak is held by the Arkansas men's track team which has run off 12 consecutive NCAA Championships.

  • The Terps' trip to last year's Final Four was their 12th-in-a-row. In addition, they have now played in the championship game 11 out of the last 12 years.

  • Starting defender Megan Kelly has four NCAA championships and six ACC championships under her belt in her three-year career as a Terp. The Maryland native moonlights on the Terrapin field hockey team that won the 1998, '99 and 2001 ACC championships and was crowned the 1999 NCAA champions. Kelly was also part of the Terp squad that won the 1999, 2000 and 2001 NCAA women's lacrosse championships, as well as the 1999, 2000 and 2001 ACC women's lacrosse championships.

    2001 Perfection

  • With their season-ending wins at Dartmouth and Harvard, the Terrapins finished the 2001 regular season undefeated, marking just the sixth time in school history that a UM team finished its regular season without a blemish. In addition to the '95, '96 and '99 teams, the 1980 and 1994 teams went undefeated before losing the final games of their respective seasons. The 1984 team went without a loss in the regular season, but had a tie along the way before losing in the NCAA finals.

  • After running the table in the NCAA Tournament, the Terps successfully nailed down their second undefeated season (including the NCAAs) in the last three years. That feat was accomplished for just the fourth time in school history joining the teams from 1995, 1996 and 1999.