April 22, 2003

FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason will make its 10th straight appearance in the Colonial Athletic Association women's lacrosse tournament, the league announced Monday morning.

The Patriots, who are 7-7 overall, opened the 2003 season with an 0-2 conference record, but rallied to win four of its next five CAA games to gain consideration. The four-team CAA women's lacrosse tournament field was set Monday morning after Mason, Hofstra, and Delaware finished in a tie for third place. CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager broke the tie by drawing names. George Mason was drawn first and selected as the #3 seed, while Hofstra was drawn second and picked as the #4 seed.

The tiebreaker was necessary after all three teams finished the regular season tied with 4-3 conference records. The first tiebreaker was head-to-head competition, where each of the three teams went 1-1 against the other two. The second tiebreaker was record versus other teams in the standings, starting at the top. Each team lost to #1 Old Dominion and #2 James Madison and defeated Towson, William & Mary, and Drexel. The third tiebreaker was performance against common non-conference opponents. All three teams lost to Loyola, the only common opponent. That made the fourth tiebreaker necessary, a draw by Commissioner Yeager.

The CAA Tournament will take place Saturday and Sunday in Norfolk, VA. Host and top-seeded Old Dominion, ranked 17th in the latest Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll, will face #4 Hofstra at 12:00 noon with #2 James Madison, ranked 8th nationally by the IWLCA, to take on #3 George Mason following at 2:30 p.m. The championship will be played on Sunday at 12:00 noon.

The Patriots secured the three-way conference tie after defeating Drexel 14-8 on Friday and topping Delaware 18-4 on Sunday, marking the first win over the Blue Hens in four meetings.