Hartford, Conn., May 8 -- The Trinity College women’s lacrosse team, which finished the 2000-01 regular season with an 8-7 record and a 3-6 mark in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), earned a bid to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Championship Tournament. Trinity, which will make its 10th post-season appearance in the last 11 years after a one-year hiatus last spring, is seeded No. 5 in the eight-team field.

The Bantams, coached by Kara Tierney, will visit No. 4 Wheaton (Mass.) on Wednesday, May 9 at 4:30 p.m. No. 1 Williams will host No. 8 New England College, No. 2 Colby will host No. 7 Bates, and No. 3 Tufts will host No. 6 Springfield in the other quarterfinal games on Wednesday.

Trinity won four out of its last six games, including wins over Wheaton and NCAA-bound Plymouth State, to finish the 2001 campaign above the .500 mark. The Bantams defeated Wheaton, 10-9, at home on April 12 on a late second-half goal by sophomore midfielder Katelyn Bowman (Summit, N.J.).

Junior tri-captain attack Ashley Taylor (Washington, D.C.) and junior midfielder Anna Sullivan (Boston, Mass.) are tied for the team-lead in scoring with 57 points each. Taylor has 24 goals and a College-record 33 assists, while Sullivan boasts a team-high 43 goals, along with 14 assists. Sophomore middie Elizabeth Miller (Weston, Mass.) has notched 39 goals and eight assists, while Bowman has 16 goals and eight assists and senior tri-captain attack Melissa Marlette (Buffalo, N.Y.) has nine goals and 13 assists.

Senior tri-captain and All-American defender Mary Jacobs (Malvern, Pa.) keys the Bantam back line. Jacobs has started all 15 games, leading the Bantams in ground balls with 53 and turnovers caused with 82. Sophomore Eliza Hurd (Carlisle, Mass.) and freshman Katherine Boothby (Philadelphia, Pa.) are the other starters on a defense that has held opponents to 21.8 shots per game (99 shots less than the Trinity offense). Junior goalie Kelly Jo Burnett (Pennington, N.J.) has also started all 15 games, finishing with 178 saves for a .531 save percentage and a 10.81 GAA.

Wheaton is 11-5 after a 12-10 loss to Springfield in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship semifinals. Freshman attackman Lauren Maynes (Barnard, Vt.) leads the Lyons in scoring with 62 goals and eight assists for 70 points, while senior backstop Andrea Christoforou (Exeter, N.H.) has 183 saves, a .596 save percentage, and an 8.92 GAA in goal. Wheaton, coached by Rebecca Begley, ended the season with four wins in its final five games.