May 27, 2004
Notre Dame, Ind. – Five Notre Dame women’s lacrosse players have been selected to play for the Great Lakes Team at the U.S. Lacrosse Women’s Division National Tournament to be held Memorial Day weekend at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. Named to the team are junior Jackie Bowers (Springfield, Pa.), sophomores Katie Killen (Manhasset, N.Y.) and Lena Zentgraf (Charlottesville, Va.) and freshmen Meaghan Fitzpatrick (Farmingdale, N.Y.) and Kristin Hopson (Rosemont, Pa.). Bowers and Zentgraf will make their second appearances on the Great Lakes team, as both were team members in 2003.
The Irish players will compete in the club division that is made up of post-collegiate and collegiate players representing the U.S. Lacrosse region they live in and play in. Approximately 25 teams are placed in Division I, II, III or IV and compete in pool play. The Great Lakes team will play in Division I versus teams from the Upper Atlantic region, the Mid-Atlantic region, New England, New York and the Pacific/Southwest region.
The Great Lakes team will play on Saturday, May 29 at 10:30 a.m. (vs. Upper Atlantic), 11:30 a.m. (vs. Mid-Atlantic region) and at 2:30 p.m. (vs. Pacific/Southwest). On Sunday, May 30, the Great Lakes team plays at 11:00 a.m. (vs. New England) and at 1:00 p.m. (vs. New York) to round out the round-robin schedule.
Bowers broke into the starting lineup for the Irish in 2004 and had career highs in goals (14), assists (11) and points (25) and was sixth in team scoring. She also had 21 ground balls and 10 draw controls on the year.
The remaining four Irish players all play defense at Notre Dame. Killeen, who missed the 2003 season with a broken foot, saw limited action in 2004 as she appeared in three games.
Zentgraf missed the entire 2004 season after playing in 11 games as a freshman. She was one of Notre Dame’s top defensive players off the bench during the 2003 season.
Fitzpatrick played in 16 games as a freshman this past season, making one start. She grabbed 11 ground balls with five draw controls and three caused turnovers in her first season at Notre Dame.
Hopson rounds out the group of four Irish defensive players. During her freshman year in 2004, she saw limited action, appearing in four games for Notre Dame.
Notre Dame was 12-5 during the 2004 season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the program’s eight-year history. The Irish finished the year ranked ninth in the final IWLCA poll.