CACC ANNOUNCES ADDITION OF WOMEN'S LACROSSE AND MEN'S TENNIS TO SPORT SPONSORSHIP

 New Haven, CT (7/29/08)  The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) will add women's lacrosse and men's tennis to its list of sponsored sports in 2008-09, according to an announcement by Commissioner Dan Mara.  The inaugural championship tournaments for both sports will be held in April of 2009. 

The CACC now sponsors 13 sports, including men's and women's soccer, volleyball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, women's lacrosse and men's golf. 

"The addition of two new championships is a reflection of the growth of the CACC," said Mara. "Not only are we adding new institutions to the league, but our current members are adding sports. This growth means more opportunities for our student-athletes, more exposure for our institutions and recognition on a national scale that the CACC is one of the most vibrant conferences in the NCAA."

The six schools to participate in the inaugural women's lacrosse season are Chestnut Hill College, Dominican College, Georgian Court University, Holy Family University, Philadelphia University and Wilmington University. Most of the programs are relatively new, as Wilmington added the sport in 2005, Dominican in 2006 and Georgian Court in 2007. Holy Family will be fielding a team for the first time this season. Chestnut Hill and Philadelphia have established programs as the Griffins have offered the sport since 1960 and Philadelphia since 1992.

The first-ever conference games will be held on March 24, 2009 with three contests; Chestnut Hill at Dominican, Philadelphia at Georgian Court and Wilmington at Holy Family. The CACC Women's Lacrosse Tournament will be a four-team, single elimination event that will be held in late April.

Six institutions will sponsor men's tennis in 2008-09, including Bloomfield College, Caldwell College, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Post University and the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. Philadelphia has offered the sport since 1964, USP added it in 1979 and Caldwell will be entering its 16^th season as a program. Chestnut Hill (2005), Bloomfield (2006) and Post (2006) recently added the sport. Concordia (N.Y.) College will join the conference in 2009-10.

The inaugural CACC Men's Tennis team championship will be held April 14-16 at Chestnut Hill College. An individual tournament, at which the CACC singles and doubles champions will be crowned, will also be held at Chestnut Hill on April 17 and 18.