The first weekend in November is all about the ladies…well at least when it comes to athletics! There are quite a few tournaments taking place in Maryland over the next couple of days featuring women athletes. We’ve got a little bit of everything going on this weekend. The 2011 ACC Field Hockey Championships got underway yesterday in College Park, the NJCAA Region 20 Women’s Volleyball Tournament starts tomorrow and goes through Sunday at the College of Southern Maryland, the Primetime Showcase girl’s lacrosse tournament is on Saturday and the Fall Lax Clash tournament is on Sunday, both at Cedar Lane Park in Bel Air.
The ACC Field Hockey Championships has returned to the University of Maryland after a six-year hiatus. This year’s tourney finds the Terps as the no. 2 seed behind top-seeded North Carolina. The Tar Heels are ranked second in the country, followed by the Terps at no. 3. Maryland has been ranked in the top 3 of the National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll dating back to Nov. 2, 2004. All signs are pointing to a Maryland/UNC championship game, which would be a rematch of last year’s championship and national title games, both of which Maryland won.
The Duke Blue Devils, however, are looking to play spoiler. After two consecutive last place finishes, the Blue Devils have had a bounce back season, taking the no. 3 overall seed in the conference tourney. Tickets are available for all the games this weekend, starting at $5. So if you’re in the area, go root on your favorite ACC school. If you can’t make it out to College Park, the tournament will be aired on the ACC’s regional sports networks, which includes Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic in the Baltimore/DC area.
Off the field and onto the court, another college tournament is taking place in Southern Maryland- the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XX Women’s Volleyball Tournament. The College of Southern Maryland plays host to the Regionals again this year. This tourney features local junior college teams from around the Mid-Atlantic area competing for the regional title. Teams include CCBC – Essex, CCBC – Catonsville, Potomac State College (West Virginia), Allegany College, Chesapeake College, College of Southern Maryland and Hagerstown Community College. The winner of the regional will go on to host the district championships.
And what would a fall weekend in Maryland be like without the state team sport of lacrosse? There are two girls-only tournaments taking place at Cedar Lane Regional Park in Bel Air this weekend. First up is the Primetime Showcase tournament that features top unsigned players from the 2012 graduating class along with the top 2013’s and 2014’s. Over 160 college coaches will be in attendance for Saturday’s showcase with over 80 teams competing. This is a premier recruiting event for women’s lacrosse. The coaches who have attended in the past come from some of the best college lacrosse programs in the country, ranging from Division I to Division III.
The elite girls’ lacrosse continues into Sunday with the Fall Lax Clash. This tournament features teams from the 2012 class to the 2019 class! The premier division which includes classes 2012, 2013 & 2014 will play at Carsins Run fields in Churchville while the competition divisions will play at Cedar Lane. The teams competing in the Lax Clash come from up and down the East Coast.
With more and more girls participating in sports now than in the past, the number of elite women’s sporting events will continue to grow throughout our state and around the nation. Just this week, the LPGA announced they were adding a new tournament to its Futures Tour to be held in Frederick. “The Challenge at Musket Ridge” at Musket Ridge Golf Club will be held on August 20-26, 2012. The event will be run through a partnership between the LPGA Futures Tour and the Frederick County Commission for Women. The growing number of women’s sporting events in Maryland is definitely a testament to the fact that female sports around the country are on the rise and that women are here to play!
And stayed tuned for even more sports’ news from Frederick, as Hood College unveils their brand new athletic center today!
