May 8, 2011
2011 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament Bracket
Ticket Information
VILLANOVA, Pa. - The 10th-ranked Villanova Wildcats (11-4, 3-3) earned their second bid in program history to the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament, as announced Sunday evening on ESPNU. The Wildcats will face Denver (13-2) at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium on the Denver University campus. Game time is scheduled for Sunday, May 15th at 3:15 MT/5:15 ET.
Head Coach Mike Corrado states, "We're excited to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, it means a lot to the program to be considered one of the best teams in the nation. We're looking forward to playing Denver and facing one of the best coaches in the history of the sport under Coach Tierney. It's going to be a challenging trip but we're ready."
After finishing the regular season with a 11-4 overall record, VU earned their first at-large bid to the NCAA postseason. The Wildcats garnered their first trip to the NCAA tournament during the 2009 season after winning the CAA championship.
With tonight's matchups announced, the Wildcats will be the first team in NCAA tournament history to play in a game west of the Mississippi.
"We'll start watching film first thing tomorrow and keep a similar routine to what we've done all year. We'll have a week to prepare and I'm confident our athletes and coaching staff will rise to the challenge," says Corrado.
The 16-team field includes six conference champions with automatic qualification - American East Conference (Hartford), Colonial Athletic Association (Delaware), Eastern College Athletic Conference (Denver), Ivy Group (Cornell), Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (Siena) and Patriot League (Bucknell).
The remainder of the field was selected at large: Duke University, Hofstra University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland, College Park, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, University of Notre Dame, University of Pennsylvania, Syracuse University, Villanova University, and University of Virginia.
NCAA TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Saturday, May 14
12 Noon ---- Hofstra at #3 Johns Hopkins, ESPN2
2:30 p.m. ---- Pennsylvania at #4 Notre Dame, ESPNU
5 p.m. ---- Delaware at #5 Duke, ESPNU
7:30 p.m. ---- Hartford at #2 Cornell, ESPNU
Sunday, May 15
1 p.m. ---- Maryland at #8 North Carolina, ESPN
3 p.m. ---- Bucknell at #7 Virginia, ESPNU
5:15 p.m. ---- Villanova at #6 Denver, ESPNU
7:30 p.m. ---- Siena at #1 Syracuse, ESPNU
Media inquires and requests for interview should be submitted to Krissy Woods, Media Relations Assistant at kristine.woods@villanova.edu or 610-519-6460.
Villanova Notes
• Villanova's 11-4 record marks the third consecutive year the Wildcats have posted at least 10 wins in the regular season.
• Villanova earned its highest ranking in program history at No. 7 in the USILA Coaches Poll earlier this season.
• Junior Kevin Cunningham leads the Wildcats with 41 points (23 g, 18a), while senior Brian Karalunas leads the NCAA averaging 4.5 caused turnovers per game. For the season, the LSM has totaled 71 ground balls and 68 caused turnovers and is VU's all-time career leader in takeaways.
• Villanova will be the first team in NCAA tournament history to play in a game west of the Mississippi.
• This is the second time that the Villanova men's lacrosse team has made it to the NCAA Tournament, previously making the field during the 2009 season. Villanova is 0-1 in the NCAA Tournament.
