Field: Twelve teams will be selected May 7. Four conference champions (Ivy Group, ECAC, America East and Patriot League) will qualify automatically for the first time. Other bids will be at large.

Dates and sites: The North first round will be May 13 at Hobart and the South first round will be May 14 at UMBC. North quarterfinals will be May 20 at Rutgers and South quarterfinals will be May 21 at Johns Hopkins. The semifinals (May 27) and championship game (May 29) will be at Maryland's Byrd Stadium.

Information/results: The fax-on-demand number is 770/563-1133 (pin code 1915). The request numbers are 5126 for semifinals and 5127 for the championship games. Championship and semifinal results will be published in the June 5 issue of The NCAA News.

Championship notes: Automatic qualification, which could leave some familiar tournament teams home, enters its first year. Still, the usual suspects could be there once the smoke clears for championship weekend. Syracuse and Loyola (Maryland) each made it through the first half of their schedule unscathed, but the Orangemen hammered the Greyhounds, 16-9, when the two clashed. Cornell brought the Orangemen back to earth a week later, 13-12. Defending champion Virginia lost only its opener to Syracuse in overtime in its first 10 games.