Feb. 12, 2004
NORFOLK, VA - The Old Dominion women's lacrosse team was ranked 19th in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches' Association (IWLCA) Preseason Poll it was announced on Thursday.
The Old Dominion Lady Monarchs finished the 2003 season with a 12-4 overall mark and a 7-0 record in regular season Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action. The women's lacrosse squad also closed out the season ranked 19th in the final IWLCA Poll. Earlier this year, the Lady Monarchs were ranked 15th in Lacrosse Magazine's Preseason Poll.
The 2004 version of the Lady Monarch lacrosse squad features 18 letterwinners and nine starters from last year's squad. Additionally 11 newcomers grace this year's roster. Old Dominion graduated just three varsity letterwinners from last year's squad, however, 2003 graduate Danielle Hensil, the Lady Monarchs' fourth leading scorer in all-time history, returns to this year's team as a volunteer assistant coach.
Old Dominion returns the nation's top scorer in senior
Suzanne Wosczyna (Phoenixville, PA), who last season led all Division I women's lacrosse athletes in points and goals per game. She led the team, league, and the nation by netting 45 goals and added in 32 assists for 77 points. Other top returners to the offense include junior
Melody Shotwell (43 goals, 9 assists, 52 points), senior
Janine Rodriguez (21 points, 13 assists, 34 points), and senior
Molly Coane (13 goals, 5 assists, 18 points).
Defensively, Old Dominion welcomes back senior Kelly Jefferys (16 groundball, 9 turnovers), sophomore Sarah Wosczyna (18 groundballs, 7 draw controls), senior Erin Lindsey (13 groundballs), along with sophomore goalkeeper Michelle Gannon (.485 save percentage, 10.63 GAA).
The 2004 season opens on March 6th at American, while Old Dominion's home opener at Foreman Field takes place on March 13th versus UMBC. The CAA slate opens on April 2 at George Mason. Four opponents on this year's schedule are also featured in the poll - #2 Maryland, #3 Virginia, #8 James Madison, and #11 North Carolina. Additionally, Richmond, Delaware, Rutgers, and George Mason, who also appear on this year's Lady Monarch schedule, were receiving votes.
RANK SCHOOL POINTS VOTES
#1 Princeton University 296 15
#2 Maryland, Universiy of 270 15
#3 Virginia, University of 268 15
#4 Duke University 260 15
#5 Loyola College 229 15
#6 Georgetown University 221 15
#7 Dartmouth College 207 15
#8 James Madison University174 15
#9 Ohio State University 157 14
#10 Penn State University 138 13
#11 North Carolina 135 15
#12 Boston University 121 14
#13 Syracuse University 109 14
#14 Stanford University 99 14
#15 Cornell University 89 14
#16 Vanderbilt University 88 14
#17 Notre Dame 72 13
#18 Yale University 56 10
#19 Old Dominion University 51 11
#20 Johns Hopkins University48 14
RV Richmond, University of 17 5
RV Ohio University 12 1
RV Delaware, University of 9 1
RV Northwestern University 7 4
RV Connecticut 5 1
RV George Mason University 4 2
RV Rutgers University 3 2
Temple University 3 2
RV Boston College 1 1
Massachusetts 1 1
