Fort Collins, CO – The Colorado State Rams claimed their third consecutive Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference title on Saturday afternoon and will enter the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association national tournament as the #2 seed for the third consecutive year as well. CSU defeated Brigham Young to grab the second spot behind #1 Cal Poly in the MCLA’s 16th annual tournament to be held this year in Greenville, SC.
Colorado State will take on 15th seeded Illinois in an opening round contest at 4:00pm on Monday, May 14. The match-up between the Illini and the Rams is only the second ever between the two teams, who also met in 2003 when the Rams claimed a 9-3 victory in Fort Collins on their way to their third national championship.
Colorado State currently holds a record of 15-2 overall and has won four games in a row since an 8-6 setback to BYU back on April 7. Illinois enters the tournament with a 13-3 overall record after defeating Purdue and Iowa to claim the automatic qualifier from the Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference.
This is Illinois’ second GRLC conference title and it will be their third MCLA national tournament appearance since 1999. The Rams have appeared in all but two MCLA tournaments – the initial event in 1997 and again in 2005 due to a self-reported eligibility violation. Colorado State won the national title in 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2006 and appeared in the association’s final four 10 times. CSU bowed out of last year’s competition in the semifinals with a 14-10 loss to BYU.
The winner of the CSU/Illinois game will take on the winner of #7 UC-Santa Barbara and #10 Pittsburgh to be played at 7:30pm on Monday, May 14. For the rest of the brackets and to follow the tournament online, please visit: http://mcla.us/national_tournament/2012/1/
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