Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women's Top 20
Selection Sunday has come and gone, and the 26-team NCAA tournament field is now set.
Undefeated Maryland was the undisputed No. 1 after claiming the Big Ten championship and stays at the top of the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20.
Four other Top 20 teams were crowned champions this past weekend, joining No. 2 North Carolina (ACC) and No. 6 USC (MPSF) who locked up their automatic qualifying bids last week – No. 4 Stony Brook (America East), No. 3 Florida (Big East), No. 17 James Madison (CAA) and No. 5 Princeton (Ivy League).
The Dukes, Wildcats and Tigers each bumped up two spots with impressive conference wins, while Elon will enter the NCAA tournament as a ranked team after upsetting Towson in the CAA semifinals.
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May 9, 2017
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W/L
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Prev
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Next
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1 |
Maryland |
19-0 |
1 |
NCAA second round |
2 |
North Carolina |
16-2 |
2 |
NCAA second round |
3 |
Florida |
17-2 |
3 |
NCAA second round |
4 |
Stony Brook |
18-1 |
4 |
5/12 vs. Bryant |
5 |
Princeton |
14-3 |
7 |
NCAA second round |
6 |
USC |
16-3 |
8 |
5/12 vs. Jacksonville |
7 |
Penn State |
15-3 |
5 |
NCAA second round |
8 |
Penn |
13-3 |
6 |
5/12 vs. Navy |
9 |
Colorado |
16-3 |
9 |
5/12 vs. UMass |
10 |
Syracuse |
15-6 |
10 |
NCAA second round |
11 |
Cornell |
12-5 |
11 |
5/12 vs. No. 15 Notre Dame |
12 |
Northwestern |
10-9 |
14 |
5/12 vs. No. 18 Albany |
13 |
Virginia |
11-8 |
12 |
5/12 vs. No. 20 Elon |
14 |
Boston College |
13-6 |
13 |
5/12 vs. Canisius |
15 |
Notre Dame |
11-7 |
15 |
5/12 vs. No. 11 Cornell |
16 |
Louisville |
11-7 |
16 |
5/12 vs. No. 17 James Madison |
17 |
James Madison |
13-6 |
19 |
5/12 vs. No. 16 Louisville |
18 |
Albany |
12-5 |
17 |
5/12 vs. No. 12 Northwestern |
19 |
Towson |
12-6 |
18 |
5/12 vs. High Point |
20 |
Elon |
13-6 |
NR |
5/12 vs. No. 13 Virginia |
Also considered: Denver, Johns Hopkins, UMass, Stanford, Virginia Tech
HOT
James Madison (+2)
Top-seeded James Madison held strong to claim the CAA title and move up two spots in the Top 20, overtaking then-No. 18 and second-seeded Towson, which was upset in the conference semifinals. It took overtime to defeat Delaware, but the Dukes cruised past Elon 15-7 in the championship thanks to an early 6-0 lead. The win marked James Madison’s 10th CAA tournament crown and the scoring margin was its second biggest in the title game since it defeated Loyola 17-6 in the 1999 conference final.
Northwestern (+2)
The Wildcats are hot when they need to be. Despite a 14-6 loss to undefeated, No. 1 Maryland in the Big Ten championship, they upset second-seeded Penn State 12-11 in the conference semifinals with the game-winning tally coming from freshman Megan Kinna with just 59 seconds left on the clock. The win, which avenged a one-goal regular season loss, was Northwestern’s second straight against the Nittany Lions in the Big Ten semifinals.
Princeton (+2)
With a convincing 17-8 upset over Ivy rival Penn and then a strong 12-9 win over Cornell for the conference title, Princeton cracked the top five. The 17 goals against the Quakers was an Ivy League Tournament record for goals in a game, as well as the most goals the Quakers have allowed in a game since 2006. Senior Olivia Hompe, who leads Division I with 4.12 goals per game, set a tournament record with nine points in the game, and had another nine points against Cornell to become Princeton’s all-time leading scorer. Against the Big Red, senior Ellie DeGarmo was named the MVP after setting a single-game tournament record with 15 saves.
NOT
Penn (-2)
Despite taking a tournament record 34 shots, No. 2 seed Penn fell to No. 3 seed and eventual Ivy League champion Princeton by nine goals. The Tigers quickly went up by two less than 10 minutes into the game, led 6-4 at the break, and dominated 11-4 in the second half thanks to a seven-goal run, which was too much for the Quakers to recover from.
Penn State (-2)
Defeating the same team more than once in a season can be hard, and it was proven when No. 2 seed Penn State fell to No. 3 seed Northwestern in the Big Ten tournament. Despite an even second half, the Nittany Lions couldn’t overcome the Wildcats’ one-goal lead at halftime. Northwestern outhustled Penn State in ground balls 17-12, and more significantly on the draw, 18-7.
NEW
Elon
Thanks to Stephanie Asher’s game-winning goal in overtime, the Phoenix earned their way back into the Top 20 with an upset of Towson in the CAA tournament on the Tigers’ home turf, thus shifting the bottom of the pack. Towson dropped one spot, while Elon edged out Denver for the final No. 20 ranking.
OUT
Denver
Denver was debated to remain at No. 20, but its last significant win was back in February. Elon is on the rise at the right time, thus the Pioneers’ revenge on Georgetown in the Big East tournament followed by a six-goal loss to Florida wasn’t enough to keep them in the Top 20. Denver was also left out of the NCAA tournament.
— Megan Schneider