The NCAA News - News and Features

May 5, 1997

Division I

Tough field greets defending champs

Event: 1997 Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship.

Overview: Although it's reasonable to call undefeated defending champion Princeton the favorite, this year's tournament is a toss-up. Despite their success, the Tigers have had many close calls, but they continue to win during a year in which upsets have been common throughout Division I. Princeton won its first three games by a total of three goals. One of those games was a 14-13 overtime decision against Virginia in a rematch of last year's championship game (which the Tigers won in overtime, 13-12). The balanced Tigers return their starting attack from last year -- leading scorer Jon Hess, Jesse Hubbard and Chris Massey -- and starting goalie Patrick Cairns. Cairns leads the country in goals-against average (6.36) .... Virginia looks just as strong as last year, despite dropping its opener, 22-21, to perennial contender Syracuse. Doug Knight leads the club in scoring and is ranked fifth in the country in points (goals plus assists). The attack also features Michael Watson, named most valuable player at last year's championship.

Field: Twelve-team tournament. At least one team will be selected from each of the three geographical regions -- Northeast, Southeast and West.

Dates and sites: The first-round games will be May 10 at Army (North) and May 11 at Towson State (South). The quarterfinals will be May 17 at Hofstra (North) and May 18 at Maryland (South). The semifinals (May 24) and the championship (May 26) will be at Maryland.

Television coverage: ESPN2 will telecast the semifinals live. Game one will start at noon (Eastern time) May 24 and game two will air 45 minutes after the conclusion of game one. The championship game will be televised live on ESPN beginning at 10:55 a.m. (Eastern time) May 26.

Information/results: The fax-on-demand telephone number is 770/399-3060, passcode 1915. The request numbers are 5126 for the semifinals and 5127 for the championship game (no other games will be posted). Results of the semifinals and championship game also will be posted on the World Wide Web at www.ncaa.org. Scores from first-round and quarterfinal pairings will appear in the May 19 issue of The NCAA News. Championship results will appear in the June 2 issue.