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University of Maryland Athletics

Women's Lacrosse Game Notes

May 7, 2002

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  • The University of Maryland women's lacrosse team will officially begin its trek towards its eighth-straight national championship this Thursday as it will head to Loyola College in Baltimore to take on the Greyhounds in an NCAA first round matchup. The Terrapins earned an at-large berth in this year's tournament while Loyola is the tourney's fifth seed.

  • The Terps enter Thursday's game with an overall record of 10-9 (0-3 ACC). The Terrapins, this year's preseason No. 1, were ranked eighth in the final IWLCA poll of the regular season.

  • Loyola finished the 2002 regular season with an overall record of 15-3 (8-0 CAA) and earned an automatic berth by way of their winning the Colonial Athletic Association. The Greyhounds are ranked fifth and won seven of their last eight games, including a 7-4 win over the Terps and a 25-4 victory over American to close the season.

  • The Terrapins closed their regular season last Friday with a strong performance in a 18-6 win over No. 20 George Mason. Maryland looked like the Terps of old as all but five of their goals were assisted and several came on quick-hitters and crisp passing inside the eight meter. In the win, Courtney Hobbs surpassed the 200-point plateu for her career and moved into the Maryland all-time top 10 in points and goals.

  • 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.

    The Drive for Eight

  • This year's NCAA Tournament signifies Maryland's run at an eighth straight NCAA title and the school's 11th national championship overall in women's lacrosse. 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.

  • Maryland is 42-13 all-time in postseason tournaments (USWLA, AIAW and NCAA) with its last loss coming in the finals of the 1994 NCAA Tournament. The Terps have won 20-straight NCAA Tournament games and are 31-8 all-time in NCAA postseason play.

    More NCAA Notables

  • The Terrapins' seven consecutive titles are the longest string of any Division I women's team in the nation. The Terps' string is the longest current streak in Division I athletics and the third-longest streak ever in women's Division I athletics (traling only LSU outdoor track (11, 1987-97) and North Carolina soccer (nine, 1986-94)).

  • Should Maryland earn a trip to this year's Final Four, it would be its 13th-in-a-row. Entering this year's tournament, the Terrapins have played in the championship game 11 out of the last 12 years.

  • Courtney Hobbs has scored at least a point in each of her last seven NCAA tournament games. In that span, she has scored 19 goals for an average of 2.7 goals per game in the last two 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 ACC women's lacrosse championships from those seasons.

    A Closer Look

  • 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 have had a better season than their record indicates.

  • 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 seventh-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.

  • The team is eighth in the nation in scoring (12.7 points per game) and first in draw controls (14.6 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 202-21 (.906) 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 won the 200th game of her career at Maryland, and now averages almost 17 wins per season for her 12 years at Maryland. 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 single 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 278-61 (.820).

  • 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 10-9

    
11+ Seasons @ Md. 202-21 (.906)

    Hobbs Tops 200

  • In the final regular season game of her career (vs. George Mason), senior Courtney Hobbs reached several milestones.

  • Hobbs was the game's leading scorer with three goals and four assists. Her seven points pushed her over the 200-point plateau for her career (she now has 202).

  • Her point total also pushed her into the top 10 for her career at Maryland and her three goals moved her into the Terps' 10th spot in that category as well as she now has 145 in her three-plus seasons in College Park.

    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 46 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 53 percent of the shots she has taken this year (48-of-90) for 48 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 23 goals have come on just 40 shots, leaving her with a .575 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 19 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.

  • Courtney Hobbs is ranked 10th in the nation in scoring, averaging 4.32 points per game. She also ranked 12th nationally in assists per game (1.63) and 25th in goals per game (2.68).

  • Sophomore Kelly Coppedge also appears in the NCAA rankings, placing 23rd in Division I in points per game (3.68) while she just recently dropped out of the top 30 in assists.

  • As a team, Maryland ranks eighth in the NCAA in scoring offense at 12.7 goals per game while it leads the nation in draw controls with an average of 14.6 per outing. It is also ranked in the top 20 nationally in scoring margin (12th; +3.0) and ground balls (18th; 27.6 per game).

    Scouting the Greyhounds

  • Loyola wrapped up its 2002 season with an overall record of 15-3 and 8-0 in the CAA. With one more win, it will match the best win total in the 30-year history of the program.

  • Diane Geppi-Aikens (Loyola, '84) is in her 14th year as head coach at Loyola. She owns a 180-68 record with the Greyhounds and she has now taken her team to the NCAA tournament in each of the last seven seasons. Last year, Loyola fell in the semifinals to Georgetown.

  • The Greyhounds have been led in scoring this season by senior Stacey Morlang (Victoria, Australia). Morlang has tallied 82 points (60 goals, 22 assists) and topped off her regular season with a 12-goal, four assist effort versus American that ranks as the top single-game point total in Division I lacrosse this year.

  • Fellow senior Tricia Dabrowski has been stellar in the pipes for the Greyhounds this year. Her 6.46 goals against average ranks second nationally and as does her outstanding .608 save percentage (178 saves, 115 goals allowed).

  • Loyola has done most of its damage in the first half of games this season. In that first frame, the Greyhounds have outscored opponents by a 140-54 margin (an average of almost 8-3 per game).

  • Series Info: Maryland holds a 21-2 edge in the all-time series. Loyola's 7-4 win on April 27th was its first over the Terps since 1997 and marked Maryland's lowest goal total in a game since 1991.

    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.