ITHACA, N.Y. -- A trio of seniors have been elected tri-captains for the upcoming 2008 season as the Cornell women's lacrosse team attempts to claim its second Ivy League title in three years. Noelle Dowd, Charlotte Schmidlapp and Katherine Simmons will pick up the leadership mantel, surrounded by a strong senior class of seven student-athletes who will also provide guidance to a team that features 19 freshmen and sophomores.

"We feel very fortunate to have such strong leadership in the Class of 2008," said head coach Jenny Graap. "Noelle, Charlotte and Katherine have earned the respect of their coaches and their teammates with hard work and dedication both on and off of the field. All three are wonderful ambassadors for Cornell lacrosse, and their collective energy and insight will no doubt strengthen our program in the coming year."

Dowd earned her first All-Ivy accolade a season ago as an honorable mention pick in the midfield. She ranked second on the team in scoring (37 points) and placed third in both goals (29) and assists (8). She joined Simmons and senior Ashleigh Smith as the only three players on the team to reach double figures in caused turnovers (13), ground balls (16) and draw controls (15). Dowd had five goals and an assist in wins over Colgate and Brown and notched four goals and an assist against Rutgers, adding two ground balls, two draw controls and two caused turnovers. She enters the season needing 18 points to reach 100 points for her career.

Schmidlapp enters her final season as a two-year starter and is one of the most skilled attackers in the Ivy League. An outstanding playmaker and a force on the draw control, she ended last season with 14 goals and five assists and ranked among the team leaders in draw controls (35). Schmidlapp has overcome numerous injuries to serve as a quarterback on the offensive end.

A first-team All-Ivy pick in 2006 and 2007, Simmons is a two-time first-team IWLCA all-region selection and is one of the top two-way players in the Ancient Eight. Simmons ranked second on the team in goals (32) and third in points (35), while pacing the team in ground balls (35) and caused turnovers (19) in 2007. She also ranked among the team leaders in draw controls (third, 19) and placed first in game-winning goals (3). A tri-captain a season ago, she enters her final season four goals shy of 100 for her career and is in sight of hitting the top 10 in career ground balls (98), draw controls (58) and caused turnovers (46).

The Big Red opens its 2008 season on February 27 when it visits Colgate in Hamilton, N.Y. beginning at 4:00 p.m.

2007-10-31