CHARLOTTE, N.C.  – The 10^th-ranked Queens University of Charlotte women's lacrosse team will take on No. 3 University of Tampa on Friday, May 10 in the opening round of the 2019 NCAA DII Women's Lacrosse Championship in Tampa, Florida.
 
The Royals currently have a 17-2 record and were seeded fourth in the South Region after winning the South Atlantic Conference regular season title with a perfect 8-0 league record. Queens also won its sixth straight SAC Championship Tournament title defeating Lenoir-Rhyne 22-8 in the championship game.
 
Queens is led by SAC Player of the Year Ally Blood who has 88 points on 42 goals and 46 assists. Queens' all-time leading scorer Hanna Scott follows with 80 points on 39 goals and 41 assists. Rachel Perrett has 67 points on 51 goals and 16 assists and Kara Blanchard has 66 points on 46 goals and 20 assists. Additionally, Katie Wardle totals 53 goals and 12 assists for 65 points while five others have 25-plus points. In goal, Chase Brokaw has a .547 save percentage.
 
The Spartans have a 14-3 overall record and earned the top seed in the South Region. After completing the regular season 5-1 in conference play, they went on to win their first-ever Sunshine State Conference Championship defeating No. 6 Florida Southern 19-18 in overtime in the title game.
 
Tampa is led by Carly Vaccaro who has 66 points this season on 53 goals and 13 assists. Kristyn Staley followed with 63 points on 40 goals and 23 assists while SSC Player of the Year Claire Swanson has 60 points on 46 goals and 14 assists. Additionally, Rachel Crawford (20g, 35a) and Caroline Forester (46g, 5a) have 55 and 51 points, respectively. In goal, Bridget Sutter has a .510 save percentage.

Queens faced the Spartans in their season opener on February 16 falling 18-15. Blanchard led the Royals offensively with five goals while Blood and Taylor Quade also notched five points apiece on one goal and four assists. Forester led the Spartans with five points on four goals and one assist while Maggie Gladden, Swanson, and Vaccaro added three goals each.
 
This is the Royals' third appearance in the NCAA Championships while the Spartans are making their first-ever appearance.
 
Friday's game is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. at the Naimoli Family Athletic and Intramural Complex on the campus of Tampa. The winner will advance to face the third-seeded Rollins versus second-seeded Florida Southern game winner on Sunday at noon.
 
The championship provides for a 16-team tournament. Four sites will host first- and second- round competition Friday, May 10, and Sunday, May 12. These preliminary round games will be played on the campuses of the number one seed from the Atlantic, East, Midwest, and South Regions. The winners of the four second-round games will advance to the semifinals and finals which will be conducted Friday, May 17, and Sunday, May 19. The championship will be co-hosted by Grand Valley State University and the West Michigan Sports Commission, in Allendale, Michigan.
 
West Chester University of Pennsylvania (Atlantic region), Le Moyne College (East region) and Regis University (Colorado) (Midwest region) also earned No. 1 seeds and are hosting the first and second rounds.
 
2019 NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Championship South Regional
 
Friday, May 10 (at Tampa)
GM 1: #4 Queens vs. #1 Tampa – 11:00 a.m.
GM 2: #3 Rollins vs. #2 Florida Southern – 3:00 p.m. 
 
Sunday, May 12 (at Tampa) 
GM 3: GM 1 winner vs. GM 2 winner – Noon
 
Friday, May 17 (at Allendale, Mich.)* 
GM 4: No. 4 seed vs. No. 1 seed – 11:00 a.m. 
GM 5: No. 2 seed vs. No. 3 seed – 3:00 p.m. 
 
Sunday, May 19 (at Allendale, Mich.) – at Noon
GM 6: GM 4 winner vs. GM 5 winner
 
*The NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Committee will seed the final four teams following completion of the second round games.