PHILADELPHIA – Let The Madness Begin!
 
For the 12th consecutive season, Penn has earned a berth in the NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Tournament and the road to the Final Four begins on Friday in Stony Brook, N.Y. as the Quakers take on Penn State in a First Round game. Opening draw with the Nittany Lions is scheduled for 5 p.m. The winner advances to Sunday's Second Round against No. 5 seed Stony Brook.
 
Notes To Know…

• Penn's 12 consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament give Penn the fifth-longest active streak among all Division I programs. Penn trails only Maryland (28), Virginia (23), Northwestern (15) and North Carolina (14) in active consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament.
• The women's lacrosse team's 12 consecutive trips to a NCAA Tournament are the most of any program at Penn which qualifies for NCAAs as a team.
• Penn women's lacrosse has also set a record for consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances among any program from the six Division I schools in Philadelphia.
• Penn is 13-13 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, and will be making its 14th overall appearance in the national tournament.
• Penn is 8-5 all-time in NCAA Tournament First Round games.
• Penn is 2-5 all-time while unseeded in the NCAA Tournament
• Penn and Penn State have met twice previously in the NCAA Tournament, the Nittany Lions winning each. The last meeting came in 2016, a 7-4 win for the Nittany Lions in the Quarterfinals. 

Natalie Stefan Named Ivy League Defender Of The Year
How's this for a debut at a position? After three years playing as a two-way middie, Natalie Stefan made the transition to full-time defender this season and all she did was earn Ivy League Defender of the Year honors. She leads all Ivy defenders in Caused Turnovers (25) and Ground Balls (36). Stefan is a key factor in Penn's clear, and has dished out three assists off transition this season.
 
Penn Paces Ivy League With Nine All-Ivy Selections
No Ivy team had more All-Ivy selections than Penn's nine as the Quakers tied with Princeton for most in the League. Nine All-Ivy selections is the most under head coach Karin Corbett, third-most all-time by a Penn team, and most since the 1982 team had 10. Natalie Stefan and Erin Barry were both unanimous first-team All-Ivy choices – making Penn the only Ivy team with two unanimous first-team selections. They were joined as first-team All-Ivy players by attackers Zoe Belodeau and Gabby Rosenzweig. The Quakers had three second-team All-Ivy honorees – Alex Condon, Katy Junior, and Emily Rogers-Healion. A pair of Quakers earned honorable mention All-Ivy in Caroline Cummings and Mikaila Cheeseman.
 
Rosenzweig Named Tewaaraton Nominee
Sophomore attacker Gabby Rosenzweig was the only Ivy Leaguer among the 25 nominees for The Tewaaraton Award which is given annually to the nation's top male and female college lacrosse players. She was among four Quakers on the Watch List, joined by Alex Condon, Katy Junior and Zoe Belodeau.
 
Nationally Speaking
*Penn is fifth nationally in assists per game (8.41) and 10th in points per game (22.59)
*Penn is third nationally in fewest turnovers per game (12.71)
 
Single-Season Record Book Rankings
*Zoe Belodeau has 91 draw controls, most in program history (dating back to 2003)
*Gabby Rosenzweig enters the NCAA Tournament with 78 points in 2018 – No. 2 all-time in a single season by a Quaker and seven away from tying Nina Corcoran (85; 2016)
*Belodeau has 70 points this season, No. 5 all-time in a single season by a Quaker.
*Erin Barry ranks tied for No. 3 in goals in a season by a Quaker (48) and No. 7 in points (60)
*Rosenzweig has 47 goals, No. 5 on Penn's single-season list
*Emily Rogers-Healion has 33 assists, t-4th on Penn's single-season list
*Belodeau has 32 assists, No. 5 on Penn's single-season list
*Rosenzweig has 31 assists, No. 6 on Penn's single season list
 
Career Record Book Rankings
*Rogers-Healion has 161 career points, No. 6 all-time; Lisa Romig (1979-82) is fifth with 165
*Rogers-Healion has 82 career assists, No. 4 all-time; Erin Brennan (2009-12) is third with 87
*Alex Condon has 111 career goals, T-6^th all-time; Rachel Manson is fifth with 116
*Condon has 137 career points, No. 11 all-time; Karen McFadden (1985-88) is 10th with 143
*Senior Caroline Cummings has 113 points for her career (91g, 22a), No. 21 all-time; Amy Shapiro (1993-96) is next with 114.
*Only a sophomore, Rosenzweig has 120 points for her career (73g, 47a), already No. 17 in the Penn record books. Lori Fruitkin (1992-95) is next with 125.
 
Zoe-MG
Freshman Zoe Belodeau is playing as well as any rookie in the country this season. She is No. 3 among freshman in assists-per-game (1.88), No. 5 among freshman in points-per-game (4.12), No. 4 among freshman in draw controls-per-game (5.35) and No. 17 among freshman in goals-per-game (2.24). Overall, she ranks No. 38 in the country in points-per-game and No. 28 in draw controls-per-game.  Belodeau is one of just six players in the country inside the Top-40 in both points and draw controls per game – and one of two freshman.
 
Penn Rookie Records for Belodeau
Belodeau has more than shattered the Penn record for points by a freshman; entering the postseason with 70 (38g, 32a) to break the previous mark of 45 set by Erin Brennan in 2009. Brennan totaled 27 goals and 18 assists during a rookie season which ended with Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors. Belodeau has also extended her new record for assists in a rookie season with 32. The previous mark of 20 was held by Penn Athletics Hall of Famer Sherry Marcantonio and set in 1980.
 
Ivy League Rookie Records for Belodeau
Belodeau has also risen among Ivy League rookies during her stellar debut season. According to the record books of the Ivy League programs, Belodeau's 91 draw controls are not only a Penn single-season record, they are the most ever by an Ivy rookie. She is also closing in on other Ivy League rookie records. She enters the NCAA Tournament ensconced in a tight battle with Princeton's Kyla Sears for the single-season points record among Ivy rookies. Belodeau has 70 points, while Sears has 78 – the surpassed the previous record of 68 set by Yale's Tracy Ball in 1978. Belodeau's 32 assists are five away from setting a new Ivy League rookie mark (Cornell's Emily Tripodi had 36 in 2013).
 
Rosenzweig is Rolling
Sophomore Gabby Rosenzweig continues to lead the Quakers in scoring with 47 goals and 31 assists for 78 points. She ranks 20th in the nation in points per game (4.59), 43rd in assists per game (1.82), and 61st in goals per game (2.76).
 
The Erin Express
Erin Barry has totaled 29 points over her last seven games (4.14 ppg), including 23 goals. She has eight hat tricks this season, including 3+ goals in five of her last seven games. She is 55th in the country in goals per game (2.82) while also ranking No. 92 in the country in caused turnovers per game (1.35). In last weekend's Ivy League Tournament Championship Game, Barry had 2g, 2a, 5dc, 4gb, 2ct.
 
The NATural
As mentioned above, Natalie Stefan has played her way to Ivy League Defender of the Year honors in her first season as a primary defender. She has gone for 2+ ground balls in 10 of 17 games this season, including three games with 5+. She has 2+ caused turnovers in nine games, while also winning 32 draws as Penn's primary taker. She scored an EMO goal in the Ivy League Tournament final vs. Princeton, a reminder of her 19 goals last season playing midfielder.
 
Junior Achiever
Defender Katy Junior's numbers are down a bit from her All-American campaign in 2017, but that is more due to a change in role on the defense. Still, the junior picked up 2+ ground balls in 10 of 17 games this season and six games with 2+ caused turnovers. For her career, Junior has 98 ground balls, two away from becoming the third Quaker since 2000 to reach 100 career ground balls.
 
Hit The Decker
Freshman Elyse Decker was called into emergency starter status for the Ivy League Tournament when All-American Alex Condon was unable to go with injury. Decker would score six goals over the two games – including five in the semifinals against Dartmouth. Her five-spot against the Big Green matched her total from all of 2018's regular season and her six ground balls against Dartmouth eclipsed her four from her previous 11 games. After scoring twice in her first seven games, Decker has at least one goal in five of her last six appearances.
 
Nittany Notes
Penn State enters its seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament in search of a third straight trip to the Final Four. Penn State advanced to the Big Ten Tournament final before falling to Maryland, a win over Northwestern in the semifinals the lone victory for the Nittany Lions in their last six games. Penn State is 10-9 overall, with eight of those nine losses coming to NCAA Tournament teams. Senior Katie O'Donnell was recently named Big Ten Midfielder of the Year. A Tewaaraton Award nominee, O'Donnell is second on Penn State – and third in the Big Ten – with 56 goals to go with 20 caused turnovers, 31 ground balls and 26 draw controls. Sophomore Maria Auth has 52 goals and 16 assists for a team-high 68 points, while Madison Carter has 116 draw controls and 57 goals to lead Penn State in both categories. In goal, Lucy Lowe has started 15 games and has an 8-9 overall record with a 13.40 GAA and .425 save percentage.