National Championship Finals Will Be Held May 27-29, 2011
Indianapolis, Ind. - A national championship event is headed to Stony Brook University and Long Island with the announcement by the NCAA today that Stony Brook will host the 2011 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship. The event will be held at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on May 27 and 29, 2011.
Stony Brook, which will be hosting the event for the first time, now has two NCAA Championship events coming to its campus over the next two years. The University will also serve as the host site of the 2010 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse North quarterfinals. Stony Brook will be just the second host for the Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship from the state of New York since the inception of the championship in 1982. The women's 2011 championship will be the third NCAA Championship hosted by SBU as the school also hosted a men's lacrosse quarterfinal in 2006.
"We are excited to award the 2011 championship to Stony Brook University. The committee was thoroughly impressed with Stony Brook's bid and recent NCAA championship events hosted by the University. Those factors, combined with the growth of lacrosse on Long Island, will no doubt make this an outstanding championship weekend" said Ryan Bamford, Chair of the NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Committee and Senior Associate Director of Athletics at Yale University.
"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to once again partner with the NCAA to host a Championship event," said Jim Fiore, Stony Brook University Director of Athletics. "This is a phenomenal opportunity for Stony Brook University, the Long Island community and our women's lacrosse program. We are fortunate and thankful for the opportunity to host a NCAA championship event and look forward to highlighting and celebrating the exciting sport of women's lacrosse. We will continue to build on the momentum created by hosting the 2006 and 2010 NCAA men's lacrosse quarterfinals and will expect a superb event for the Women's Lacrosse National Championship in 2011
Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium will be the host facility for both the men's quarterfinals in 2010 and women's championship in 2011. The facility, which saw its all-time attendance record of 8,335 set in 2006 at the first men's quarterfinal event held there, had a new, 89,298 square foot FieldTurf surface installed in June.
Stony Brook's women's lacrosse coaching staff is no stranger to NCAA Championship competition. Head Coach Allison Comito was a member of four national championship squads at Maryland, scoring the game-winning goal in overtime in the 2001 championship against Georgetown. Assistant coach Molly Lambert was also a member of the 2001 Maryland national championship squad. "I am very excited that we will be bringing our national championship to LaValle Stadium to share this great sport with the many talented players on Long Island and from the surrounding areas," said Comito. "Our university and staff are extremely supportive of women's lacrosse and I look forward to the opportunity to be a part of this event for Stony Brook and all fans of women's lacrosse."
