The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- May 24, 1999

Record-setting Terps topple Virginia in women's lacrosse

Maryland claimed its fifth consecutive National Collegiate Women's Lacrosse Championship and capped its third unbeaten season in that string with a 16-6 victory over Virginia May 16 at Johns Hopkins.

The Terrapins' string is the longest current streak in any Division I women's sport.

Maryland (21-0) opened a 4-0 lead in the opening 9:44 and never looked back, ballooning its advantage to 11-2 over its Atlantic Coast Conference rivals by half time.

The Terrapins, who also won titles in 1986 and 1992, established National Collegiate championship-game records for most goals (16), and largest margin of victory (10). The previous records were set by Temple in 1988 in a 15-7 win over Penn State. Maryland equaled its record for victory margin in its 13-5 win over Princeton in 1995.

"This win was all about Maryland's conviction and belief that this could happen," said coach Cindy Timchal, who also led the team to the title in 1992. "We committed to play two 30-minute halves of lacrosse."

The tournament's most outstanding player, Jen Adams, led the Terrapins' offensive attack with four goals and one assist. The Terps spread the wealth across the board as eight players scored. Kristin Sommar added three goals and three assists, while Quinn Carney scored two goals and assisted on five others. Christie Jenkins added two goals and one assist. Allison Comito and Meghan McNamara added two goals apiece. The champions' Alex Kahoe, who made the all-tournament team for the third consecutive year, made 18 saves, allowing five goals in 59:46.

Virginia (15-6), which won the championship in 1991 and 1993, was paced by Samm Taylor's three goals.

"We are definitely disappointed with our overall performance," said Virginia coach Julie Myers of her team's second consecutive championship-game setback. "They are always at their best in the finals. They don't miss a beat."

In addition to Kahoe, Maryland's Sommar also repeated on the all-tournament team. Three of their teammates -- Adams, Comito and Jenkins -- also made the team.

Melissa Hayes, a repeat honoree from Maryland, was joined by teammates Kelly Allenbach and Gina Sambus. Duke's Kate Kaiser and Sandy Johnston, and Penn State's Colleen O'Brien and Jen Webb rounded out the team.

CHAMPIONSHIP SUMMARY

First round

Georgetown 7, North Carolina 6; Penn St. 23, West Chester 7; Dartmouth 20, Loyola (Md.) 7; James Madison 11, Rutgers 6.

Quarterfinals

Maryland 17, Georgetown 6; Penn St. 9, Princeton 7 (ot); Virginia 20, Dartmouth 8; Duke 11, James Madison 10.

Semifinals

Penn St. 8 5 -- 13

Maryland 9 8 -- 17

Penn St. scoring: Jen Webb 4, Colleen O'Brien 3, Jen Johnson 3, Emily Mechem 3.

Maryland scoring: Jen Adams 4, Allison Comito 3, Kristin Sommar 3, Christie Jenkins 3, Quinn Carney 2, Meghan McNamara 1, Courtney Hobbs 1.

Shots: Penn St. 29, Maryland 36. Saves: Penn St. -- Megan Ames 9; Maryland -- Alex Kahoe 14.

Duke 3 5 -- 8

Virginia 5 4 -- 9

Duke scoring: Kate Kaiser 2, Tricia Martin 2, Kate Soulier 1, Claire Finn 1, Claire Sullivan 1, Kelly Dirks 1.

Virginia scoring: Samm Taylor 2, Gina Sambus 2, Jessica Hull 2, Jamie Haas 1, Amy Fromal 1, Kelly Allenbach 1.

Shots: Duke 29, Virginia 30. Saves: Duke -- Shannon Chaney 14; Virginia -- Francis Segarra 17.

Championship

Virginia 2 4 -- 6

Maryland 11 5 -- 16

Virginia scoring: Samm Taylor 3, Jamie Haas 1, Mills Hook 1, Jessica Hull 1.

Maryland scoring: Jen Adams 4, Kristin Sommar 3, Quinn Carney 2, Christie Jenkins 2, Allison Comito 2, Meghan McNamara 2, Meredith Egan 1.

Shots: Virginia 36, Maryland 34. Saves: Virginia -- Francis Segarra 1, Liz McCarthy 9; Maryland -- Alex Kahoe 18, Kim Blouin 1.