Florida’s newest athletic program will take part in four tournaments and an exhibition match this fall.
Coach Amanda O’Leary’s Gators lacrosse team will face eight of the 16 teams that qualified for last season’s NCAA Division I Lacross Championships.
Florida’s new lacross facility will be the site of the program’s first event, a three-team, round-robin tournament with Jacksonville and Rollins College on Saturday, Oct. 3. The Dolphins also are beginning their first season as a varsity lacrosse team while Rollins went 12-3 last year in NCAA Division II. Each of the schools will play two matches each.
Two weeks later, Florida will be in Princeton, N.J., to play in the Princeton Fall Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 17. The Gators will play five 30-minute, running-clock games against five teams that reached the NCAA quarterfinals in 2009, including five-time defending champion Northwestern and NCAA runner-up North Carolina. Syracuse, Penn and Princeton also will be in the event.
On Saturday, Oct. 24, Florida will play an exhibition match with Duke in Durham, N.C., and stay overnight to play in the Duke Fall Invitational. The Gators will play 30-minute, running-clock games with Richmond, Davidson, Virginia Tech, Louisville and Duke.
The Gators finish off their fall schedule on Saturday, Oct. 31 in the Georgetown Tournament at Washington, D.C. In the field with the Gators and the NCAA tournament participant Hoyas are NCAA semifinalist Maryland and Loyola, Md.
Florida’s first lacrosse season begins Feb. 20, 2010 when Jacksonville visits the Gators.
FLORIDA LACROSSE FALL SCHEDULE
October
3 (Saturday): UF Tournament at Florida Lacrosse Facility (Noon, Florida vs. Jacksonville; 2 p.m., Jacksonville vs. Rollins; 4 p.m., Florida vs. Rollins).
17 (Saturday): Princeton (N.J.) Tournament (9 a.m., Florida vs. North Carolina; 10:10 a.m., Florida vs. Syracuse; 11:55 a.m., Florida vs. Penn; 1:05 p.m., Florida vs. Northwestern; 1:40 p.m., Florida vs. Princeton).
24 (Saturday): Exhibition, Florida vs. Duke, Durham, N.C., 2 p.m.
25 (Sunday): Duke Fall Invitational, at Durham, N.C. (9 a.m., Florida vs. Richmond; 9:35 a.m., Florida vs. Davidson; 10:45 a.m., Florida vs. Duke; 11:55 a.m., Florida vs. Virginia Tech; 12:30 p.m., Florida vs. Louisville).
31 (Saturday): Georgetown Tournament, Washington, D.C. (8:30 a.m., Florida vs. Maryland; 11:50 a.m., Florida vs. Loyola, Md.; 1:30 p.m., Florida vs. Georgetown).