Jan. 19, 2005

BALTIMORE, MD - Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse seniors Lacey-Leigh Hentz (Hampstead, MD/North Carroll) and Anne Crisafulli (Garden City, NY/Garden City) have been named the 2005 team captains and will lead the Blue Jays through a schedule that includes nine teams ranked in the Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Top 20. Both Hentz and Crisafulli have played in over 45 games during their first three years and look to close their careers with Hopkins' best season to date.

"Lacey-Leigh Hentz and Anne Crisafulli have played a major part in the success of this program at the Division I level," head coach Janine Tucker said. "They are tremendous leaders and are ready to guide this team to what we hope will be our best season yet."

Johns Hopkins, picked sixth in the poll, opens its season Saturday, Feb. 26 at home against Davidson and then visits 2004 NCAA runner-up Princeton on March 5 for a game televised on CSTV. The meeting with the Tigers will be the first in the seven-year history of the Johns Hopkins Division I program and in the 30-year history of Blue Jay lacrosse. It follows a 3 p.m. men's game between Hopkins and Princeton.

The journey to Princeton kicks off a five-game road trip that includes American Lacrosse Conference (ALC) opponents Ohio State, Ohio and Vanderbilt, and ends at George Mason on March 23. Hopkins defeated these teams 13-5, 12-4, 12-11 and 13-11 during a 10-game winning streak to start the 2004 season.

The Blue Jays return home for three straight games on March 25, 30 and April 6 against George Washington, Penn and UMBC. Hopkins has never lost to the Colonials or Quakers and is a combined 15-3-1 against the three teams.

The second half of the season features tougher competition as six of the final seven teams on Hopkins' schedule are ranked in the preseason top 20 and four reached the NCAA tournament last season.

The Blue Jays first visit local rival Maryland, which reached the NCAA quarterfinals and handed Hopkins its first loss of the year, 14-11, in 2004. Next up is American on the road followed by another in-state opponent, Towson, which went 14-4 last year and was tabbed 15th in the Lacrosse Magazine preseason poll.

After the cross-town trip to Towson, Hopkins closes its home season with consecutive games at Homewood against Northwestern, Notre Dame and Penn State. Last year the Blue Jays edged Notre Dame 13-12 and lost to ALC opponents Northwestern, 15-8, and Penn State, 12-9. The April 30 meeting with the Nittany Lions will be the second Hopkins game televised on CSTV.

The regular-season finale is a May 7 trip to Georgetown, where the Blue Jays lead the all-time series 3-0. The Hoyas went 13-5 and reached the NCAA Final Four last year, and were picked ninth in the 2005 preseason poll.

If all goes as planned for Johns Hopkins, its season will stretch through the month of May in the NCAA tournament. The Blue Jays reached the Division I tournament for the first time last year and hope to make it a habitual part of their schedule, beginning with another appearance this season.