INDIANAPOLIS - For the sixth consecutive year
Salisbury University was selected as the top-seed in the 2008 NCAA
Division III men's lacrosse tournament as announced by the
selection committee on Sunday evening. The Sea Gulls, the defending
national champions, received a first round bye and will host a
second round game on Saturday, May 10, at Sea Gull Stadium. The
game time will be announced on Monday.
Salisbury (18-0) enters the postseason with an undefeated record
for the fifth consecutive season and a 41-game winning streak. The
Sea Gulls will host the winner between Kenyon College (10-3) and
Ohio Wesleyan University (9-6). The two North Coast Athletic
Conference teams will face-off in the first round on Wednesday, May
7, at Kenyon in Gambier, Ohio. Salisbury defeated OWU 14-10 at home
on March 9. The Sea Gulls have never faced the Lords.
The NCAA tournament berth is the 20th in a row for the Sea
Gulls, a NCAA record, 26th in Division III and 30th overall as SU
played in four Division II tournaments in the late 1970's.
Salisbury has won seven Division III national championships (1994,
'95, '99, 2003, '04, '05, '07) and has reached the title game 10
times since 1991. Salisbury is 41-18 in 25 NCAA Division III
tournament appearances. The Sea Gulls winning percentage of .695 in
59 tournament games ranks third all-time in Division III history.
The NCAA second round game is also significant in that a win for
the Sea Gulls would give SU coach Jim Berkman his
327th career win, which would set the NCAA all-time record for
men's lacrosse coaches. Berkman is currently tied with former Army
coach Jack Emmer at 326 wins.
In the 21-team field the Sea Gulls have faced seven teams this
season and were a perfect 7-0 against them. The winner of Salisbury
and Kenyon/OWU would advance to the NCAA quarterfinals (May 14) and
face the winner of Cabrini and Haverford in another second round
contest. The bottom half of the South region bracket features
familiar faces in Gettysburg College, Denison University, Widener
University, Washington (Md.) College and Lynchburg College.
SUNY Cortland is the top-seed in the North region and will host
a second round game against Springfield and Kean. The other top
teams in the North region are Middlebury, Williams, Ithaca and St.
Lawrence. Salisbury and SUNY Cortland have met in the last two
national championship games. The Red Dragons won the 2006
championship 13-12 in overtime while SU upended Cortland 15-9 last
season.
The NCAA semifinals are slated to be hosted on May 18 with the
winners advancing to the national championship game on May 25 at
Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., at 1:30 p.m.
Salisbury University is the only school, in any NCAA division,
to have the top-seeded teams in both men's and women's lacrosse
tournament fields this season.
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