Sportexe Takes Johns Hopkins to 2007 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Title
Blue Jays use Sportexe Turf to Capture NCAA Championship
ROUND ROCK, Texas. May 30, 2007—Johns Hopkins claimed its ninth NCAA men’s lacrosse title Monday, with a 12-11 victory over powerhouse Duke in front of a record-setting crowd of 48,443 fans for the championship final at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
The NCAA Men’s Championship returned to M&T Bank Stadium and its Sportexe synthetic turf system on Memorial Day Weekend after hosting the event in both 2003 and 2004. A record 52,004 attended the Division I semifinals on Saturday.
Johns Hopkins not only captured its title on Sportexe, but the Blue Jays also played its entire 2007 home schedule at Homewood Field, which also features Sportexe turf. In fact Sportexe has been good to the Blue Jays (13-4) this season as they went 8-3 on Sportexe turf.
“We feel very fortunate to have won the national championship on Monday,” said Johns Hopkins men’s lacrosse coach Dave Pietramala. “Our familiarity with M&T Bank Stadium and the Sportexe system in place there was no small factor in our success. We are thrilled with the Sportexe surface we had installed at Homewood Field. It is not only a state-of-the-art playing surface, it has significantly enhanced the look of our facility.”
Johns Hopkins was one of four Sportexe clients, including Loyola College (Maryland), University of Albany and University of Maryland-Baltimore County, to reach the NCAA Division I 16-team postseason bracket in 2007. The Blue Jays, which also co-hosted the NCAA Championship, entered the semifinals on Saturday along with Cornell, Delaware and Duke.
The Blue Jays defeated Delaware 8-3 in semifinal action on Saturday, as Duke defeated previously unbeaten Cornell 12-11 to advance to the finals that afternoon.
Johns Hopkins captured the title in 2005 and has won the event eight times. Johns Hopkins is the only team to have made the championship bracket every year except 1971 – 36 times.
“We had a great crowd on hand for some great lacrosse action this weekend,” said NCAA tournament director Marty Schwartz. “The City of Baltimore, M&T Bank Stadium and the Sportexe turf system showed why this location should be a regular site to host this event.”
“Obviously Sportexe is extremely proud of Johns Hopkins for its success this season and we are thrilled to be underfoot of a championship program,” said Sportexe Director of Lacrosse John Burke. “But Sportexe is also extremely proud of the entire sport of lacrosse for continuing its unparalleled growth and success. Sportexe is genuinely excited to play such a vital role in this year’s lacrosse championship series and will continue to make huge strides in providing the best synthetic turf systems available for lacrosse and all other sports.”
In March, M&T Bank Stadium hosted the inaugural Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Classic on Sportexe turf to kick off the college lacrosse season with Sportexe also presenting the player of the game awards for the doubleheader event. Four elite college teams, including Johns Hopkins, met in the inaugural Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Classic over the weekend that drew the largest crowd to watch a regular-season match when 20,180 attended.
Sportexe turf systems, the exclusive surface of the NLL, are designed to enhance performance and meet the rigorous requirements for the sport of lacrosse. Sportexe is also the lacrosse turf system at Boys’ Latin School of Maryland, which has spent the past two seasons ranked No. 1 nationally in prep lacrosse.
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