Tigers looking to defend national title
By: Justin Feil
For the first time since 1981 when the NCAA men’s lacrosse championship came to town, the Princeton University campus will be the site of a national championship.
The NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Final Four will be hosted today by Princeton Stadium. The top-seeded Tigers will meet Vanderbilt 6 p.m. tonight in one semifinal while Georgetown and No. 2 Virginia play at approximately 8:30 p.m. With as many as 5,000 expected, the only question is what took so long for it to happen.
"It’s good for Princeton," said Erin McDermott, the Princeton University associate athletic director who is tournament director. "With the NCAAs, it gives you some recognition nationally. For this local community, it’s a pretty big deal to host the national championship."
With the men’s final hosted up the road at Rutgers only three years ago, and the local area and New Jersey established as lacrosse hotbeds, it seems a natural fit.
"That’s why the NCAA is so excited about it," McDermott said. "They thought it’d be a great draw. At Syracuse last year, it’s really a great men’s lacrosse school, but they don’t have the draw for women’s lacrosse. This area, with New York being close and Philadelphia and Baltimore having so many women’s lacrosse teams, they thought we could get a good nexus of people. We think there will be a lot of people there. The key is that Princeton qualified."
The Tigers needed overtime to dispose of Ivy rival Dartmouth in the NCAA quarterfinals at Class of 1952 Stadium Sunday. They’ll move all the way across Washington Rd. in search of their third straight title. Only Maryland has won as many consecutive titles in women’s lacrosse.
Princeton head coach Chris Sailer laid out the original idea of hosting the Final Four last year. The Tigers put in a proposal to host in the winter last year and were granted the honor the week after last year’s championship.
Princeton had to show its projected expenses, its planned security and ticketing procedures as well as plenty of information about its facilities and that it could provide the proper game-time amenities and hotel accommodations for visiting teams. Once the bid was granted, it was up to Princeton to follow through and make sure everything was in order for this weekend, making this a showcase of Princeton’s hospitality as much as its competitiveness on the field.
"The NCAA committee doesn’t get involved a lot," McDermott said. "They come in just this weekend to be host to the teams. But we’ve had conference calls with Kerri Fagan, who’s one of the championship directors for the NCAA. She, along with the chair of the NCAA women’s lacrosse committee, Kathy Zerrlaut, have been in touch the whole year."
The NCAA was impressed on its tour of the Princeton facilities. The $45 million Princeton Stadium is just six years old. But it’s the people who have been tested the most and who will ensure that the NCAA Final Four runs smoothly.
"It’s been quite a bit of work for our staff because we don’t have a lot of people," McDermott said. "Karen Malec with all the facilities, Chris Brock in ticketing and Brie Galicinao and Jon Kurian with marketing have all been doing a lot.
"That’s probably the biggest task, the promotional task. Sending out fliers and generating interest for the Final Four are very important. We’ve marketed heavily in the Central Jersey area and the state, but we’ve also done Philadelphia and New York. We’ve had radio ads. We’re trying to hit the hot pockets of women’s lacrosse."
Outside of working to ensure that the Final Four runs smoothly, Princeton also must host a YES Youth Education in Sports clinic Sunday morning before the 2 p.m. championship game.
"That’s an event the NCAA has at each of its sports’ (championship games)," McDermott noted. "We have to manage that heavily. We have to get all the information out to kids. We have to get high school coaches in the area to volunteer to run the clinic. And we have to take in registration and group the kids by age and experience. That’s an additional event you end up managing."
While little things have popped up in the hosting process, the only recent problem that Princeton encountered is keeping the required logos on the Princeton Stadium grass due to the recent rainfall. And now that the day has arrived for the Final Four, the weather is about all the Tiger hosts are worried about.
"We certainly think we can get a nice crowd," McDermott said. "We’re hoping for good weather. We have some real nice potential. Chris Sailer thinks if it’s nice we could have 10,000."
That’s the high end of expectations, but with the home school playing for a third straight national title local interest is sure to be high. And in its first national championship-hosting role since 1981, Princeton University is ready for the crowds and the chance to show off a little bit.