University of Albany Women's Lacrosse Ranked #5 In deBeers Poll, Will Host America East Tournament - UAlbany Sports 2011

Albany, N.Y. - The University at Albany will host the America East Conference Women's Lacrosse Championship on May 5 and 7 at John Fallon Field. The Great Danes, the championship's top seed, earned the right by winning the conference regular-season title for the second consecutive year. UAlbany (15-0) is the only undefeated team at the NCAA Division I level.

UAlbany tangles with New Hampshire in the first semifinal on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. Boston University, the second seed and six-time defending champion, meets UMBC in the second semifinal at 3:30 p.m. The winners will play for the America East championship and an NCAA Tournament automatic berth on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. The championship final will be streamed live for free at the America East Zone in partnership with Pack Network.

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America East Conference Women's Lacrosse Championship
(John Fallon Field, Albany, N.Y.)

Thursday, May 5
#1 UAlbany (15-0, AE 6-0) vs. #4 New Hampshire (8-8, AE 3-3), 1:00 p.m.
#2 Boston University (8-8, AE 4-2) vs. #3 UMBC (10-6, AE 4-2), 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 7
America East Conference Championship, 1:00 p.m.

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Albany, N.Y. - After defeating UMBC to finish regular-season play, UAlbany is ranked No. 8 in the IWLCA coaches' poll for the second straight week. The Great Danes moved up two positions to No. 5 in the deBeer/Inside Lacrosse media rankings.
UAlbany (15-0, AE 6-0) is the only undefeated NCAA Division I program after top-ranked Maryland was upset on Sunday by Dartmouth in double overtime. The Great Danes recently secured their second consecutive America East Conference regular-season crown. As the No. 1 seed, UAlbany will host the America East Championship on May 5 and 7 at John Fallon Field. The Great Danes meet New Hampshire in the semifinal round on Thursday at 1:00 p.m.

Paw Prints: UAlbany is the first America East Conference program to go undefeated through the regular season since the conference began in 1996 ... Tewaaraton Award nominee Taylor Frink leads the nation in assists at 2.67 per game and is fifth in scoring at 4.67 points per game ... the senior attacker has already set UAlbany's single-season records for points (70) and assists (40) ... Nikki Branchini is third nationally in draw controls (4.93 per game) ... the Great Danes are ranked second among the Division I leaders in scoring defense, allowing 6.87 goals per game.

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IWLCA Poll: 1. Maryland, 2. North Carolina, 3. Northwestern, 4. Florida, 5. Duke, 6. Stanford, 7. Pennsylvania, 8. Albany, 9. Loyola, 10. Dartmouth, 11. James Madison, 12. Boston College, 13. Virginia, 14. Princeton, 15. Syracuse, 16. Georgetown, 17. Penn State, 18. Ohio State, 19. Vanderbilt, 20. Massachusetts.

deBeer/Inside Lacrosse Poll: 1. Maryland, 2. Northwestern, 3. Florida, 4. North Carolina, 5. Albany, 6. Pennsylvania, 7. Duke, 8. Loyola, 9. Stanford, 10. James Madison, 11. Boston College, 12. Dartmouth, 13. Virginia, 14. Ohio State, 15. Syracuse, 16. Massachusetts, 17. Penn State, 18. Georgetown, 19. Princeton, 20. Vanderbilt.

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information