MAAC Women's Lacrosse Earns Automatic NCAA Bid
Oct 22, 2009
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Women's Lacrosse League has received an automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Tournament, it was announced on Wednesday. It marks the first time since the 2003 season that the league's champion will not have to participate in an NCAA Play-In to earn a berth to the 16-team NCAA bracket.
"This is excellent news for our entire league," said Fairfield head coach Mike Waldvogel. "Earning the automatic bid speaks volumes about how the MAAC has committed to the sport of women's lacrosse and the increased level of competition within the league itself, as well as the non-conference slate that we are all playing."
Fairfield won the play-in last season, defeating Sacred Heart by a score of 16-10 on Lessing Field. The Stags advanced to the NCAA Championship, playing fourth-ranked Penn tightly, falling 10-8.
The MAAC joins the America East Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big East Conference, Colonial Athletic Association and Ivy Group, as the six leagues with automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament.
Direct entry into the NCAA Championship is determined by a conference's Rating Percentage Index (RPI). The MAAC ranked seventh in the final 2009 RPI. The conference RPO is calculated by the team's within the league.
Fairfield finished the 2009 season at 17-3, its second consecutive 17-win campaign. The Stags final RPI was 16th, the highest in the MAAC, and just shy of Stanford and Dartmouth, 14th and 15th on the list. The Stags were 4-2 against teams ranked in the top-45 of the RPI last season.
The MAAC received direct entry to the NCAA Championship in 2002 and 2003, the first two years it received an automatic bid. For the past six years the MAAC champion has advanced to the play-in round, going 2-1 in the past three seasons in that game.
The Stags will wrap-up the fall portion of their schedule this weekend, with its annual Alumni Game, Saturday, October 24. The game will be played at noon on Alumni Field.
On Sunday morning the squad will participate in the 2009 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Westport, Conn. Those who wish to support the Stags efforts at the event can visit their team page.
