This year’s NCAA Division II women’s lacrosse tournament certainly has a different look.
Before the season started, the NCAA announced that the field size for the 2021 championship would be reduced from 16 to 12 teams due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. That placed a premium on every game, allowing teams very little margin for error.
Sunday evening, the selections for the 12-team bracket were announced and were notable as much for the teams not included as the ones that were chosen.
Indianapolis begins the tournament as the No. 1 team in the Nike / US Lacrosse Division II Women’s Top 20 and received one of the four first-round byes as the top seed in the Midwest region. The other teams earning first-round byes are No. 3 West Chester (Atlantic region), No. 4 Queens (South region) and No. 10 Roberts Wesleyan (East region).
With no automatic qualifiers for the tournament, all selections are made at-large, with three teams selected from each of the four regions.
The 2021 bracket includes three NCAA first-timers — Roberts Wesleyan and No. 12 Bentley in the East region, and No. 15 Mount Olive in the South region. It’s also missing some familiar names, like Adelphi, Le Moyne and no qualifiers from the Sunshine State Conference.
No. 6 Le Moyne was probably the most surprising omission from the NCAA field. The Dolphins posted a 13-1 record, were ranked in the top three of the polls throughout the season and lost their only game last week against arch-rival Adelphi in the semifinal round of the NE10 conference tournament.
Despite being the most recent national champion, having won its ninth NCAA Division II title in 2019, Adelphi became a long-shot to make the field this spring after starting the year with back-to-back losses against Le Moyne and New Haven. The Panthers eventually advanced to the NE10 championship game before losing to Bentley.
In the South, the SSC’s decision to play a limited schedule with league games only and no championship tournament may have handicapped its members. Florida Southern was probably the SSC’s strongest postseason candidate, posting a 9-1 record, but the three other selectees from the South region all had 11 wins or more.
First- and second-round games in the NCAA tournament will be played this Friday, May 14, and Sunday, May 16. The winners of the four second-round games will advance to the national semifinals and finals, which will be conducted Friday, May 21, and Sunday, May 23 in Salem, Virginia.
Nike / US Lacrosse
Division II Women’s Top 20
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May 10, 2021
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W/L
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Next
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1 |
Indianapolis |
14-1 |
1 |
5/16 in NCAA Tournament vs. TBD |
2 |
Lindenwood |
13-1 |
3 |
5/14 in NCAA Tournament vs. No. 5 Regis |
3 |
West Chester |
13-0 |
4 |
5/16 in NCAA Tournament vs. TBD |
4 |
Queens |
12-1 |
5 |
5/16 in NCAA Tournament vs. TBD |
5 |
Regis |
14-1 |
8 |
5/14 in NCAA Tournament vs. No. 2 Lindenwood |
6 |
Le Moyne |
13-1 |
2 |
Season complete |
7 |
Limestone |
11-2 |
6 |
5/14 in NCAA Tournament vs. No. 15 Mt. Olive |
8 |
East Stroudsburg |
10-3 |
7 |
5/14 in NCAA Tournament vs. No. 11 Seton Hill |
9 |
Florida Southern |
9-1 |
11 |
Season complete |
10 |
Roberts Wesleyan |
13-1 |
16 |
5/16 in NCAA Tournament vs. TBD |
11 |
Seton Hill |
13-2 |
10 |
5/14 in NCAA Tournament vs. No. 8 East Stroudsburg |
12 |
Bentley |
12-2 |
18 |
5/14 in NCAA Tournament vs. No. 16 Mercy |
13 |
Grand Valley State |
12-2 |
14 |
Season complete |
14 |
Adelphi |
9-4 |
13 |
Season complete |
15 |
Mt. Olive |
13-1 |
17 |
5/14 in NCAA Tournament vs. No. 7 Limestone |
16 |
Mercy |
12-2 |
15 |
5/14 in NCAA Tournament vs. No. 12 Bentley |
17 |
Rollins |
6-1 |
9 |
Season complete |
18 |
Tampa |
7-3 |
12 |
Season complete |
19 |
Pace |
8-4 |
19 |
Season complete |
20 |
St. Anselm |
8-3 |
20 |
Season complete |
Also considered: Assumption (8-4), Belmont Abbey (11-4), Bloomsburg (8-6), Davenport (11-3), McKendree (10-4), Mercyhurst (10-4)