Women's Lacrosse Opens NCAA Tournament Friday vs. UMass

Friday, May 13

Princeton, N.J.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

UMASS

Tickets

Photo by: Sideline Photos, LLC

Women's Lacrosse Opens NCAA Tournament Friday vs. UMass

May 12, 2022 | Women's Lacrosse

Princeton (14-3) vs. UMass (16-3)
NCAA First Round
May 13 | 7 p.m.
ESPN+ | Tickets | Live Stats | Game Notes

BACK IN THE POSTSEASON
For the 28th time overall -- and 27th under head coach Chris Sailer -- Princeton enters the NCAA Tournament as the Tigers host First and Second Round games at Class of 1952 Stadium. Not counting the 2020 and 2021 season impacted by COVID-19, Princeton has now qualified for eight straight national tournaments they could have potentially played in.

All-time, Princeton is 38-24 in the NCAA Tournament and 21-3 in NCAA Tournament games played in Princeton. With Sailer leading the program, Princeton is 37-23 overall in the national tournament and 20-2 in home games. Princeton has won at least a game in 22 of 26 previous trips to NCAAs under Chris Sailer. Princeton and UMass have met once previously in the NCAA Tournament, a 13-12 overtime win for the Minutewomen in the first round in Ithaca in 2016.

Princeton's Class of 2022 has now qualified for three NCAA Tournaments, and enters with a record of 3-2 in the national tournament. The last time Princeton competed in NCAAs was in 2019 and the Tigers advanced to the Quarterfinals after wins over Wagner (19-7) and Loyola (17-13).

THE ALL-TIME SERIES
This one is brief. The 2016 NCAA Tournament game between the Tigers and Minutewomen is the only meeting between the two teams.

ONE FINAL SAIL
Head coach Chris Sailer embarks on her final season as head coach ot the Tigers after announcing her retirement in November. Already a member of the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame, Sailer was announced for induction into the IWLCA Hall of Fame this past week. The winningest coach in program history, Sailer is No. 5 all-time among all NCAA women's lacrosse coaches -- and No. 2 in Division I -- with 431 wins. She is also No. 2 all-time in wins by a head coach at one institution in NCAA Lacrosse. She has won three NCAA championships during her time with the Tigers, and is a 16-time Ivy League champion.

PRINCETON CLAIMS IVY TOURNAMENT TITLE
The Tigers were dominant on Sunday in the Ivy League Tournament final, ransacking Yale in a 19-9 win. The Tigers scored eight times on eight shots on goal in the first quarter, and then outscored the Bulldogs 7-0 in the second frame to take a 15-3 lead into halftime. Marge Donovan set a Princeton program record with 12 draw controls in the game en route to tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. Kyla Sears (4g, 1a) and Grace Tauckus (4g, 3a) led the offense. The Tigers have now won four straight Ivy Tournaments and six overall.

TIGERS TAKE OVER ALL-IVY ANNOUNCEMENT
Princeton was all over the All-Ivy announcements, securing four of the five major yearly awards and eight total All-Ivy honors. Kyla Sears (Attacker of the Year), Marge Donovan (Defender of the Year) and Sam Fish (Goaltender of the Year) received on-field yearly awards, while Chris Sailer was named Coach of the Year. Sears and Donovan were unanimous selections, while Fish was named Goaltender of the Year for the second time. For Sailer, the Coach of the Year honor was the fourth of her career. Sears, Donovan and Fish were also named first-team All-Ivy, while Grace Tauckus and Kate Mulham were named second-team All-Ivy. Defenders Olivia Pugh, Maria Pansini and Mary Murphy were named honorable mention All-Ivy.

SEARS AND DONOVAN NAMED US LACROSSE ALL-AMERICAN
Seniors Kyla Sears and Marge Donovan were both named second-team US Lacrosse All-Americans this week. They were the only two Ivy League players among the honorees.

RANKINGS RECAP
Princeton enters this week ranked No. 9 in the ILWomen/IWLCA National Rankings and No. 11 in the Nike/US Lacrosse National Poll. The Tigers are 5-3 in games against teams ranked in the Top-25, with wins over then-No. 10 Virginia, then-No. 20 Temple, then-No. 17 USC and then-No. 24 Yale (2x) and losses to then-No. 7 Loyola, then-No. 5 Stony Brook and then-No. 8 Maryland.

SEARS' CATALOG
Senior Kyla Sears enters the NCAA Tournament with an impressive collection of stats and records. She is No. 1 all-time on the Princeton charts in goals (202), assists (97) and points (299). She is also No. 1 in free position goals with 72 -- more than twice as many as the next player who had 35.

CLIMBING THE IVY RANKS
Not only is Kyla Sears making her move up the Princeton record book, she is vaulting her way up the Ivy record book as well. Entering the postseason, she is No. 3 all-time in the Ivy League in points, seven away from tying Jacque Weitzel (Dartmouth) for second and 16 away from tying the No. 1 spot. She is No. 2 all-time in goals by an Ivy League player and is No. 6 all-time in assists. Sears' next assist will tie her with Whitney Doucett (Dartmouth) for No. 5.

ATOP THE ACTIVE NCAA LEADERS
Kyla Sears has totaled 299 points in 61 career games, averaging 4.90 points-per-game which currently ranks No. 7 among active Division I players. Her 3.31 goals-per-game rank No. 11 among active players and her 1.59 assists-per-game rank No. 20 among active DI players.

SEARS OWNS THE ARC
Kyla Sears is Princeton's all-time leader in free position goals with 72 -- 37 more than the second-place Tiger.

MISS CONSISTENCY
Kyla Sears has scored at least one goal in all 61 career games played -- tied for the fifth-longest streak in NCAA Division I history.

MARGE IS MARCHING UP THE CHARTS
Marge Donovan's 204 career draw controls entering the week rank No. 1 all-time by a Tiger and No. 3 all-time by an Ivy League player. This season, she has 102 draw controls, a Princeton single-season record and No. 4 in a season by an Ivy Leaguer all-time. She also has 20 caused turnovers, also pitching in two goals and two assists.

FISH IS CATCHING ON
Goalkeeper Sam Fish has 553 saves over her 57 appearances, ranking No. 4 all-time in saves by a Princeton goalie -- one stop away from tying Susan Kohler '81 for No. 4.

KATE THE GREAT
Kate Mulham has set career highs in goals (32), assists (11), points (43), and ground balls (11) this season. She has 21 goals over her last seven games, including a pair of five-goal games against Maryland and Penn.

GRACE ON FIRE
Sophomore Grace Tauckus had 17 goals in five games as a freshman in 2020, averaging 3.4 goals-per-game. Her pace was also in range of a Top-10 single-season mark for the Princeton program. Through 17 games this season, she has 43g, 9a for 52 points.

SHAKE AND BLAKE
McKenzie Blake has 44 points (35g. 9a) through 17 games, including a five-goal game at No. 17 USC. A two-way player, she has also caused 12 turnovers and picked up 31 grounds balls.

MUELLER TIME
Sophomore Ellie Mueller has 22 points in 16 games played, including a four-assist game at No. 17 USC. She has 13g, 9a with 20 ground balls added. She's had four ground balls in two fo her last four games (at Columbi and vs. Harvard).

SOPHIE, SO GOOD
Sophie Whiteway is eighth on the team with 19 points (14g, 5a) through 16 games, also factoring in huge in the midfield with 53 draw controls, 10 caused turnovers and 13 ground balls. She had nine draw controls at USC and six against Yale in the Ivy Tournament final.

BUONANNO IS BUENO
Sophomore Kari Buonanno registered 18 points (14g, 4 a) over her five games in 2020 and was on pace for a 70+ point season which would have been among the best single season in program history. She has 22 goals and 31 points in 10 games this season, including a four-goal game at Virginia in the opener. After missing five games with injury, she has returned with seven goals and 12 points in her last four games. She also has 17 draw controls, 10 caused turnovers and nine ground balls, all career highs.

KYLA SEARS NAMED TEWAARATON NOMINEE
Senior Kyla Sears is the only Ivy Leaguer among the 25 nominees named for the 2022 Tewaaraton Award on April 21. A four-time Watch List selection, this is the first time Sears has been tabbed among the 25 players in contention for national player of the year.

TIGERS SWEEP CALIFORNIA TRIP
Kyla Sears (4g, 3a) and McKenzie Blake (5g) led the offense, while Sophie Whiteway had nine draw controls and three goals as the Tigers never trailed in an 18-13 win at USC on Tuesday. Princeton would then cap its West Coast swing with a 27-18 win over San Diego State. Nina Montes (5g, 1a) and Kyla Sears (4g, 1a) had big days on offense, as did McKenzie Blake and Grace Tauckus who each had four goals. Marge Donovan had 11 draw controls, tying Princeton's single-game high.

PRESEASON PICK
For the fifth season in a row, Princeton has been chosen as the preseason No. 1 in the Ivy League Preseason Poll. The Tigers were a unanimous top choice, receiving all 18 first place votes.

THE WATCH
Marge Donovan and Kyla Sears were two of the 50 women named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List ahead of the 2022 season Sears has now been named to the Tewaaraton Watch List in each of her four seasons, for Donovan this is her third selection.

ALL-AMERICAN AMERICANS
Sears and Donovan have also has red, white and blue running through their veins in addition to our Orange & Black. This fall, they represented the United States at the Super Sixes event at US Lacrosse headquarters in Maryland. Ahead of this season, they both were named Preseason All-Americans by both US Lacrosse and Inside Lacrosse.

D-UNIT
Princeton's defense is an experienced group. Marge Donovan, Mary Murphy and Olivia Pugh each started all five games in 2020 and enter this year with a combined 131 games played among them. They have also collectively posted 103 caused turnovers and 192 ground balls.