With conference tournament season officially here, there’s plenty of movement throughout the Nike/US Lacrosse Division III Men’s Top 20.

Look no further than the Centennial Conference and NESCAC, both of which produced notable results on the final weekend of April. Wesleyan is out of the NESCAC tournament, while Gettysburg somehow, some way didn’t get the No. 1 seed in the CC.

The top six teams nationally are pretty firmed up – RIT, York and Salisbury remained in the top three, with Tufts trailing closely behind – though that could change with another set of games. This time of year always produces an upset or two, bucking expectations and what even the most diehard of fans thought would happen.

Nike/US Lacrosse
Division III Men’s Top 20

Also considered (alphabetical order): Christopher Newport, Coast Guard, DeSales, Saint John Fisher, St. Lawrence, Stevenson, Western New England

Hot

Williams (+2)

Few teams nationwide are trending up like the Ephs, as Saturday’s 12-9 win over Colby in the NESCAC semifinals set a new program record for wins (14) in a season. That leads to a semifinal meeting with Amherst, which has weathered a lengthy list of injuries to reach the 20-goal mark in each of its last three games. What’s even better for Williams is it beat Amherst, 13-11, back on April 6 in a result that made it a logjam atop the NESCAC. Can history repeat itself?

Franklin & Marshall (+4)

Winners of three straight, the Diplomats surge into the Centennial Conference semifinals with the No. 1 seed. That sets up a rematch with Ursinus, which upset F&M, 16-15, in overtime back on April 13. Revenge will be fresh on their minds, with Luke Keating, Blake Target and Kevin Mollihan forming an absolutely lethal attack trio. They’ve combined for 218 points so far this spring.

Denison (+2)

Over the weekend, the Big Red captured their 18th NCAC championship and are now the No. 1 seed in that conference’s tournament. The clincher was a 16-13 win over Ohio Wesleyan, their archrivals in the NCAC. Denison is currently enjoying an 11-game winning streak, with its only losses of the season coming against Stevenson and Dickinson.

Not

Bates

The Bobcats don’t move up or down in this week’s rankings, but a 23-9 loss to Amherst in the NESCAC semifinals puts them in a perilous spot. Bates is 1-3 across its last four games and now must hope to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. That’s certainly not a guarantee, because their inclusion would likely mean the NESCAC is a five-bid conference.

Wesleyan (-5)

In the biggest shock of the conference tournament season, the defending national champions are out of the NESCAC running. The Cardinals fell, 11-7, at home against Middlebury and now must hope for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The result came out of nowhere, especially considering Wesleyan had beaten the Panthers, 12-6, in March at the Mustang Classic. The Cardinals were stymied by 17 saves from Middlebury goalie Tyler Bass, held to single-digit goals for the second time all season.

Ursinus (-2)

The Centennial Conference’s cinderella story of 2019 took a turn for the worse, as the Bears fell, 11-8, to Dickinson over the weekend. That sets up a CC semifinal game against No. 1 seed Franklin & Marshall. To take an optimistic perspective, Ursinus has four top-20 wins already this year, proving it can hang with the best of them under first-year head coach Gary Mercadante. All might not be doom and gloom in Collegeville, Penn.