DURHAM, N.C. - Head coach Kerstin Kimel and the Duke women's lacrosse team finalized their 2008 schedule today. The schedule includes four exhibition matches and 16 regular season contests.

The Blue Devils will play eight regular season home games, including three home ACC matchups. Seven of their opponents qualified for the 16-team NCAA Tournament in 2007.

On Sunday, Jan. 27, Duke will travel to Lake Buena Vista, Fla., to take on the U.S. Developmental Team and the U.S. Elite Team in the third annual U.S. Lacrosse Champions Challenge. Senior attacker Caroline Cryer plays for the Elite team and junior midfielder Jess Adam is a member of the Developmental squad. The Blue Devils will host an exhibition with England on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 11:00 a.m., and will play in the annual all day South of the Border exhibition tournament on Sunday, Feb. 10 in Chapel Hill, N.C.

The Blue Devils open the regular season with Denver at home on Feb. 15 at 6:00 p.m. Highlights of the home slate include Maryland on Saturday, Mar. 1 at 12:00 p.m., Georgetown on Saturday, Mar. 15 at 12:00 p.m., Virginia on Saturday, Mar. 29 at 1:00 p.m., and three-time defending national champion Northwestern on Sunday, Apr. 6 at 1:00 p.m. Both the Maryland and Georgetown games will be the first part of a doubleheader with the Duke men's lacrosse team.

All Duke home contests will be held in Koskinen Stadium and admission is free of charge.

As it did last season, Duke will log thousands of miles in its eight road matches. The Blue Devils first contest away from home is in Dallas, Texas, against Stanford at Southern Methodist University on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 3:00 p.m. ET. Duke's toughest road games include Princeton on Saturday, Mar. 8 at 3:30 p.m., archrival North Carolina on Saturday, Mar. 22 at 1:00 p.m., and Vanderbilt on Sunday, Apr. 20 at 2:00 p.m. ET. A Sunday, May 4 trip to Hanover, N.H., to take on Dartmouth wraps up the regular season for Duke.

The 2007 ACC Tournament will be held in Charlottesville, Va., for the fifth time and first year since 2004. It will be held from Thursday, Apr. 24 through Sunday, Apr. 27.

The NCAA Tournament begins on Sunday, May 11 with first round action at campus sites, continues with quarterfinal rounds at campus sites on Saturday, May 17 and concludes with the semifinals and championship game on Friday, May 23 and Sunday, May 25 at Unitas Stadium in Towson, Md.

The Blue Devils return seven of 12 starters and 23 of 31 letterwinners from a team that reached the Final Four for the fourth time in the program's 12 year history in 2007. That squad finished 16-4 with a 4-1 mark in the ACC, which tied them for the regular season conference title.

No. Name                  Pos. Cl  Hometown/High School
 0  Cassi Carley          G    Fr  Sewickley, Pa./Sewickley
 1  Sarah Kirchhofer      D    Sr  Dallas, Texas/Hockaday School
 2  Virginia Crotty       A    Fr  Bernardsville, N.J./Oak Knoll
 3  Danielle Kachulis     M    So  Parker, Colo./ Kent-Denver
 4  Kimberly Pastrana     D/M  Jr  Edgewater, Md./St. Mary's
 5  Chrisi Casey          D    So  Potomac, Md./Holton Arms
 6  Caroline Spearman     M/D  Fr  Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh
 7  Christie Kaestner     A    Fr  Trappe, Md./St. Peter & Paul
 8  Aiyana Newton         D    Sr  Baltimore, Md./Park School
 9  Alex Ryan             A/M  So  Rochester, N.Y./Brighton
10  Carolyn Davis         M    Jr  Skaneateles, N.Y./Skaneateles
11  Catherine Krom        D    Jr  Summit, N.J./Kent Place School
12  Rachel Shack          M/D  Sr  Andover, Mass./Phillips Academy
13  Caroline Cryer        A/M  Sr  Centennial, Colo./Cherry Creek
14  Betsey Sauer          M/A  So  Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury
15  Jess Adam             M    Jr  Severna Park, Md./Severn School
17  Morgan Miller         A    Fr  Denver, Colo./Colorado Academy
18  Lindsay Gilbride      M/A  So  Alexandria, Va./Georgetown Visitation
19  Sarah Bullard         M    Fr  Needham, Mass./Buckingham, Browne & Nichols
20  Kim Imbesi            G    Jr  Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan
21  Sara Giedgowd         M/D  So  Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga
22  Megan Del Monte       A    Jr  Lutherville, Md./St. Paul's School
23  Jessica McBride       M/D  Jr  Madison, N.J./Oak Knoll School
24  Christie Klauberg     M    Fr  Cos Cob, Conn./Greenwich Academy
25  Abigail Meyer         D    Sr  Alexandria, Va./St. Stephen's & St. Agnes
26  Emma Hamm             A/M  Fr  Wayne, Pa./Baldwin
27  Allie Johnson         M/A  Sr  Annapolis, Md./Broadneck
28  Taylor Fleming        D    Fr  Bryn Mawr, Pa./Merion Mercy
30  Jillian Heinz         D    So  Winnetka, Ill./New Trier
31  Christie Barnes       M    So  Wayne, Pa./Radnor
32  Christina Germinario  D    Jr  Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central
33  Miller Hughes         M    Fr  Baltimore, Md./Roland Park
77  Regan Bosch           G    Sr  Annapolis, Md./Severn School
 
Head Coach:   Kerstin Kimel (Maryland '93/13th Season)
Asst. Coach:  Josh Hexter (Assumption College '95/4th season)
Asst. Coach:  Alex Kahoe (Maryland '00/2nd season)
Captains:     Caroline Cryer, Abigail Meyer

2007-11-29