Terps

There has been talk about parity in college lacrosse for years, but finally there is evidence in the NCAA Division I tournament, a place where some thought it might not be on display for another decade. As the tournament moves into the quarterfinal round there will be no representative from the state of Maryland for the first time. UMBC, Johns Hopkins and Mount St. Mary's didn't make the initial 16 team-field and Maryland, Loyola and Towson each got bumped over the weekend in the first round.

Maryland owns a commanding 13-2 advantage in this series and has won the last eight meetings. But the two teams have not played since March 18, 2000, and Cornell is 2-1 against the Terps in the NCAA tournament. The Big Red (12-3) have lost all three contests by one goal each, but a setback to then-No. 12 Princeton in the semifinals of the Ivy League tournament on May 3 cost the team one of the NCAA tournament's eight seeds and a home game in the first round. But that does not hide the fact that 2011 Tewaaraton Award finalist Rob Pannell (36 goals and 44 assists)

Maryland's 2013 season could be compared to an exhilarating amusement-park ride that kept passengers highly entertained through the first half before sputtering out and leaving riders wanting more. After back-to-back appearances in the national title game, the Terps fell well short of that goal this spring, falling to Cornell, 16-8, in the first round of the NCAA tournament Sunday. With the loss, Maryland extended its national crown drought to 38 years. As frustrating as that is, however, coach John Tillman said the program will not lower the bar. “Our expectations will always be the same,” he said.

For the second time this season, Stony Brook forced a Maryland women's lacrosse offense that loves to run and gun into a more deliberate attack. The strategy slowed the Terps , but it wasn't enough to beat them. After giving up an early goal and struggling to find the openings in the Seawolves' zone defense, the No. 1 Terps scored six straight times to spark an 11-3 victory in the second round of the NCAA tournament Sunday at Maryland's Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex. The Terps (20-0)

Former Memphis point guard Antonio Barton (Lake Clifton) wrote in a text Sunday to The Baltimore Sun that his visit to Maryland on Friday “went tremendous”. Barton wrote that he loved the campus and was impressed with Terps coach Mark Turgeon and his assistants as well as the academic support staff. A source said Barton has not committed to the Terps. Barton expects to graduate this summer and be eligible to play immediately next season. He is reportedly also considering Syracuse, Texas A&M and Kansas State.

The Maryland men's lacrosse team spent the week poring over film of Cornell's whirling dervish of an attackman Rob Pannell, but defensemen Goran Murray and Michael Ehrhardt and goalkeeper Niko Amato have something celluloid cannot match: firsthand experience. Amato and Pannell were teammates at a tournament in Vail, Colo., last summer, and Murray played on an opposing team at the same tournament. Ehrhardt played against Pannell in Long Island, N.Y., last summer. "I know he likes to [isolate]

Baltimore Sun reporter Don Markus and editor Matt Bracken weigh in on the three biggest topics of the past week in Maryland sports. Will Alex Len's injury impact his draft status? Don Markus: Len, who will be out four to six months after undergoing surgery to stabilize his left ankle, is definitely going to be a lottery pick in next month's NBA draft. Most mock drafts have the 7-1 center going anywhere from No. 5 to No. 11, but a lot will have to do with the outcome of the bouncing balls that determine the order of the lottery.

ESPN college football analyst Andre Ware said on “College Football Live” Wednesday that he expects Maryland to be one of the country's “bounce back” teams in 2013. Pointing to the return of quarterback C.J. Brown and the emergence of wide receiver Stefon Diggs, Ware said that “anything short of a bowl game will be a disappointment.” Calling Diggs “one of the most underrated” players in the country, Ware added Maryland to a list that includes Missouri and Miami.  Ware pointed to the fact that the Terps were 4-2 before a rash of season-ending injuries to Brown and freshmen quarterbacks Perry Hills and Caleb Rowe led to Maryland losing its last six games.

With the 18th pick in the seventh round of last month's NFL draft, the first - and only - Maryland football player went off the board. Kevin Dorsey , whose long wait ended two Saturdays ago with a call from the Green Bay Packers, is set to take part in his first rookie minicamp later this week. Dorsey, a Forestville grad, was a consensus four-star recruit for the Terps in 2008. He bided his time behind Torrey Smith and other veteran receivers before breaking out as a junior with 45 catches for 573 yards and three touchdowns in 2011.

Combining Maryland's seventh-place finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference last season and the recent decision by 7-foot-1 sophomore center Alex Len to leave early for the NBA, most figured that the Terps would not get a marquee matchup in next season's ACC-Big Ten Challenge. There was also some speculation that Maryland's departure from the ACC after next season for the Big Ten might make the Terps a candidate for exclusion - something that had not happened to Maryland in the first 14 years of the series.