Whittier releases 2010 schedule

WHITTIER, Calif. - The Whittier College women's lacrosse team and head coach Emily Hammer announced its 17-game schedule for the 2010 season. The Poets will play 10 games at the friendly confines of Memorial Stadium and seven games on the road.

This season marks the first year that the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference will recognize women's lacrosse as one of its sports. The Poets will play eight conference games against Claremont-M-S, Occidental, Pomona-Pitzer and Redlands.

This will be the first year for varsity lacrosse for Occidental.

WC opens the season with Claremont-M-S on February 24 and hits the road for Los Angeles three days later to face Occidental. The Poets play their third conference game on March 6 before they host a six-game non-conference home stand.

First year program Carthage visits Whittier on March 9 followed by a pair of Landmark Conference teams out of Maryland, Goucher College and Frostburg State University, on March 15 and 16, respectively.

Sewanee, Fontbonne and Puget Sound round out the non-conference home schedule.

SCIAC foes Pomona-Pitzer and Redlands stand between the Poets and a three-game road trip to Ohio where the purple and gold will face Ohio Wesleyan, Wittenberg and Denison.

The last three games of the season are against Occidental, Pomona-Pitzer and Redlands.

Last year the Poets posted their first NCAA winning season with a 8-6 record. This year's opponents had a combined 81-76 record in 2009.

The SCIAC tournament will begin with a play-in game between the fourth and fifth place team on March 28. Whittier will host the conference semifinals on May 1 and the top ranked team remaining will host the championship on May 2.

The NCAA Division III Championships will take place from May 12 thru May 23. The 2010 National Championship will be played at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pa.