Salisbury capped a perfect season with a national championship and rightfully moves to the top of the final Nike / USA Lacrosse Division III Women’s Top 20.

The Sea Gulls (20-0) edged Tufts 14-13 for the title on May 23 after beating Denison in dominant fashion in the semifinals. They also topped Ithaca 16-5 in the elite eight and outscored their first two opponents 42-4 after winning the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference championship.

Tufts, which was unbeaten before the championship loss to Salisbury, moves up to No. 2, while St. John Fisher — which ousted previously undefeated Catholic, William Smith and Messiah en route to the final four — finishes ranked third.

After upsetting previously No. 2 Washington & Lee in the third round, Ithaca slides into the No. 4 position, despite a loss to William Smith in the Liberty League championship game. Ithaca beat the Herons twice in the regular season. Washington & Lee drops to No. 5 with just the one loss to Ithaca; one-loss Messiah is No. 6; semifinalist Denison finishes seventh; and William Smith is eighth after knocking off former No. 1 Franklin & Marshall in the second round.

F&M fell to No. 9, and Catholic rounds out the top 10.

New to the rankings are University of Chicago and Meredith. Chicago knocked out former No. 18 John Carroll in the third round and was rewarded with a climb to No. 13. John Carroll dropped out, as did Geneseo.

Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings

Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women

Also considered: Christopher Newport, Geneseo, Hamilton, John Carroll, Mary Washington, Roanoke, St. Mary's (Md.), Wesleyan