EMAIL THIS PAGE

April 9, 2003

Gina Riitano is 10th in the nation in draw controls.

WASHINGTON — After being second a week ago, the American University women’s lacrosse team moved into the NCAA lead in draw controls, averaging 14.73 per contest. The Eagles lead Boston University by .62 draws per game. AU continues to be ranked in six of the seven team categories while sophomore midfielder Gina Riitano (Schenectady, N.Y./Albany Academy for Girls) and senior attack/midfielder Nadia Harmsen (Buzzards Bay, Mass./Tabor Academy) are ranked in individual categories.

In addition to leading the country in draw controls, the Eagles are second in scoring offense with 13.58 goals per game, just .03 behind Virginia. AU is also 12th in caused turnovers (12.55 per game), 13th in winning percentage with an 8-3 (.727) record, 15th in scoring margin (+3.18) and 18th in ground balls per game (29.55 per game).

Individually, Riitano is 10th in the country in draw controls with 3.27 per game and 17th in ground balls (4.0 per game). Harmsen, the career leader in draw controls at AU is 20th in the nation with 2.82 per game as the Eagles are one of only two teams in the country with two players in the top-20 in draws.

The Eagles play Richmond later today on Reeves Field. The match begins at 3:30 p.m.

American University, which fields a 19-sport NCAA Division I athletics program featuring 10 women’s sports and nine for men, is in its second year of membership in the Patriot League. Since joining the Patriot League, the University has captured league championships in men’s cross country, women’s cross country, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and women’s volleyball, and regular-season titles in men’s basketball and women’s lacrosse.

Chartered by an Act of Congress in 1893, American University features students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and more than 160 nations worldwide.