INDIANAPOLIS---The NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Committee has selected the 16 teams that will compete in the 2004 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship.

Eight first-round games will be conducted Thursday, May 13, and four quarterfinal games will be played Sunday, May 16. These preliminary-round games will be played on the campuses of competing institutions. The winners of the four quarterfinal games will advance to the semifinals and final May 21 and 23. The semifinals and final will be played at Princeton Stadium on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. The championship game will be broadcast live on College Sports Television (CSTV) at 2 p.m. Eastern time, Sunday, May 23.

Seven conferences have been awarded automatic qualification for the 2004 championship. In addition, the champions of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and the Northeast Conference competed in a play-in game for an automatic berth.

Teams Receiving Automatic Qualification:

America East Conference New Hampshire American Lacrosse Conference Vanderbilt Atlantic 10 Conference Temple Big East Conference Georgetown Colonial Athletic Association James Madison Ivy Group Princeton Patriot League Colgate Play-in Game: Northeast at Metro Atlantic Mount St. Mary's 

Colgate, Johns Hopkins and Mount St. Mary's will be making their first appearance in the NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship.

In last year's championship, Theresa Sherry scored the game-winning goal in overtime to give Princeton its second consecutive women's lacrosse championship and third overall (1994, 2002, 2003) with an 8-7 victory over Virginia at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. Other previous champions in this year's field include Maryland (1986, 1992, 1995-2001), New Hampshire (1985), Temple (1984, 1988) and Virginia (1991, 1993).

For more information about the NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship, log on to www.ncaasports.com.