- George Mason opened the week with an overall record of 8-8 heading into the week and a No. 20 national ranking by the IWLCA. GMU has been on a bit of a roll of late, winning three of its last four including a victory last Saturday at No. 17 Johns Hopkins.
- The Terrapins are coming off of a rough week that saw them lose a pair of games on the road to two of the nation's top teams. On Wednesday, Maryland put a scare in top-ranked Princeton with an early 5-0 lead and a tie game with 10 minutes remaining, but it ultimately fell to the Tigers, 13-9. Saturday saw one of the Terps' top defensive efforts of the season nullified by a rough offensive outing in a 7-4 loss at No. 4 Loyola.
- 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.
Stating Their Case
- The 2002 season has been a tough one by the standards set in College Park, but a closer look at this year's team shows that the Terrapins are still deserving of a bid to this year's NCAA tournament.
- Maryland has lost its nine games by a combined total of 18 goals (an average margin of defeat of 2.0 goals per game). Included in the nine losses are a total of five one-goal losses.
- The Terrapins have, according to the LaxPower rankings, played the toughest schedule in Division I women's lacrosse.
- LaxPower also rates the Terps as the sixth-best team in the nation with the sixth-highest ranking in the "Quality Win Factor" category.
- Maryland became the first fourth-seeded team in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament to win its way to the tourney finals. The Terps made it there with an impressive 15-12 win over then third-ranked Virginia. They ultimately lost in the finals to North Carolina by, again, a single goal (11-10).
- Of Maryland's nine losses, six have come to teams ranked - at the time the games were played - in the nation's top five.
- Team is seventh in the nation in scoring (12.7 points per game) and first in draw controls (14.3 per game). Terps have beaten six ranked opponents this year, three of whom were ranked in the top 10 at the time they played Maryland.
Head Coach Cindy Timchal
- Head coach Cindy Timchal is completing her 12th season at the helm of the Maryland women's lacrosse program in 2002. In her 11-plus years, she has established one of the most dominant teams in all of collegiate athletics as the Terrapins are 201-21 (.905) under her guidance, have earned 11 NCAA Tournament bids and have taken the crown eight times.
- With a win earlier this year 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 277-61 (.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 9-9
11+ Seasons @ Md. 201-21 (.905)
Hobbs Nearing Benchmarks
- With the last regular season game of her career looming, senior Courtney Hobbs stands just one solid game from the Maryland career top 10 in two statistical categories.
- Hobbs enters this Friday's game against George Mason with 142 goals and 195 points for her career. Not only could she surpass the 200-point barrier for her career in Friday's game, but she also needs just one goal and four total points to move into a tie for the 10th spot in Maryland history in both goals and assists.
- With her goal against Loyola last week, Hobbs moved ahead of current Terp assistant Cathy Nelson and into 11th on the all-time goal-scoring list.
By the Skin of their Teeth
- Maryland has lost nine games this season, but there have been plenty of positives to point to in spite of that fact.
- In their nine losses, the Terps have lost by a combined 18 goals with four-goal losses to two No. 1 teams (Georgetown and Princeton) being the largest margins of defeat. That's one two-goal, one three-goal, five one-goal and two four-goal losses 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 Streak
- 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 45 games. Her last game without a point came against Loyola on April 29, 2000.
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 54 percent of the shots she has taken this year (43-of-80) for 43 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 20 goals have come on just 36 shots, leaving her with a .556 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 18 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 this year's leading scorer for Maryland .
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, Laura Warren (who joined the Terrapins in February), 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 '92 and '93.
- 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 seventh in the NCAA in scoring offense at 12.7 goals per game while it leads the nation in draw controls with an average of 14.3 per outing. It is also ranked in the top 20 nationally in scoring margin (14th; +2.5) and ground balls (16th; 27.3 per game).
- Courtney Hobbs is ranked 11th in the nation in scoring, averaging 4.17 points per game. She also ranked 18th nationally in assists per game (1.5) and goals per game (2.7).
- Sophomore Kelly Coppedge also appears in the NCAA rankings, placing 27th in Division I in assists per game (1.3) while she just recently dropped out of the top 30 in points scored.
Local Ties
- George Mason has eight players who hail from the state of Maryland. The list: Kelly Motley (Edgewater), Stacy Berger (Baltimore), leading-scorer Jill Toomey (Annapolis), Kristy Manas (Harwood), Kerry Miller (Annapolis), Brandi Evans (Fort Howard), Paula Priest (Kingsville) and Shannon O'Donnell (Crofton).
Scouting the Patriots
- George Mason entered this week with an 8-8 record and a No. 20 national ranking. The last four weeks, the Patriots have earned mention in the national poll whether it was as a ranked team or receiving votes.
- Amy Umbach (William & Mary, '95) is in her fifth year as head coach at GMU. She owns a 37-42 record with the Patriots, a school she joined after one season as the head coach at American.
- Maryland native Jill Toomey has led the Patriots in scoring this year, posting 62 points behind 51 goals and 11 assists. Impressively, her 51 goals have come on just 85 shots.
- Meg Dentler has been GMU's netminder and owns a solid 9.81 goals against average and a strong .585 save percentage.
- One benchmark to watch for the Patriots would be the 10-goal barrier. When Mason allows 10 goals or more to an opponent this year, it is 0-7. When it holds a team below that total, it is 8-1. Conversely, when GMU scores 10 or more, it is 7-3; when it scores less it is 1-5.
- Series Info: Friday's meeting marks the first ever between Maryland and George Mason.
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.
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.
Seniors Bid Farewell
- Five Terrapin seniors will be playing their final games at Ludwig Field in this Friday's game versus George Mason. The following is a quick look at each:
- Meredith Egan (Maplewood, N.J.): The lone New Jersey native on the Terrapins roster has made a name for herself with her hard-nosed play at both ends of the field ... an all-tournament selection at this year's ACCs ... the team's fourth-leading scorer in 2002, she leaves Maryland having posted 88 goals and 34 assists for a career total of 122 points.
- Courtney Hobbs (West Lakes, So. Australia): Team's leading scorer in 2002 with 75 points (48 goals, 27 assists) ... one of two Terps selected to the All-ACC team ... owns a 45-game scoring streak heading in to her final home game ... stands just one goal and four points from the Maryland all-time top 10 in each category ... enters the George Mason game with 142 goals, 53 assists and 195 points for her career.
- Megan Kelly (Gaithersburg, Md.): An athletic defender who will leave Maryland with at least four NCAA championships and six ACC rings as she also played four years on the Terp field hockey team ... the lone returning starter to this year's defensive unit ... has seen action in every game of her four-year career with the Terps.
- Annie Morris (Waltham, Vt.): Hard-working defender who has seen action in 47 games in her career at Maryland ... one of the team leaders in ground balls with 29 in 2002 and one of the Terrapins' top defensive performers.
- Katie Robinson (Davidsonville, Md.): Player who transferred from Loyola in 2000 and has been a solid contributor to the Terp attack ever since ... has played 62 collegiate games in her career, scoring 25 goals and 19 assists with 26 career points coming as a Terrapin.
