Conference champions will be decided this week, and the Division III women’s tournament field will be set one week from today with the selection show streaming on NCAA.com beginning at 10:30 a.m. May 3.
While most conference champions will be determined by a tournament — or at least a one-game playoff — that won’t be the case for the Centennial Conference, in which the regular-season standings decide the winner. However, No. 1 Franklin & Marshall and No. 5 Gettysburg meet Saturday in what essentially could be the championship game, as both enter the week undefeated.
That means this week will be big for the Nike / US Lacrosse Division III Women’s Top 20, but as teams finished their regular seasons, there was some movement in the rankings. The top 10 teams remained the same, except unbeaten Messiah jumped ahead of Colby, flipping from No. 9 to No. 8.
York’s upset loss to Stevens Tech cost it to move down, while Hamilton and William Smith both dropped out because of losses. St. Mary’s and Roanoke benefit from the openings and return to the top 20.
Nike/US Lacrosse
Division III Women’s Top 20
April 26, 2021 |
W/L |
Prev |
Next |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Franklin & Marshall | 5-0 | 1 | 4/28 vs. Muhlenberg |
| 2 | Washington and Lee | 11-0 | 2 | 4/30 vs. TBD (ODAC semifinals) |
| 3 | Salisbury | 13-0 | 3 | 4/28 vs. No. 15 St. Mary's (C2C semifinals) |
| 4 | Tufts | 5-0 | 4 | 5/1 vs. No. 19 Wesleyan (NESCAC championship) |
| 5 | Gettysburg | 5-0 | 5 | 5/1 at No. 1 Franklin & Marshall |
| 6 | Ithaca | 11-0 | 6 | 4/28 vs. TBD (Liberty League semifinals) |
| 7 | Catholic | 7-0 | 7 | 4/28 at Susquehanna (Landmark semifinals) |
| 8 | Messiah | 13-0 | 9 | 4/27 vs. Alvernia (MAC Commonwealth quarterfinals) |
| 9 | Colby | 3-1 | 8 | 5/1 vs. TBD |
| 10 | Denison | 8-1 | 10 | 5/1 at Wooster (NCAC championship) |
| 11 | Cortland | 9-1 | 12 | 4/26 at Plattsburgh |
| 12 | St. John Fisher | 12-1 | 13 | 4/30 vs. TBD (Empire 8 semifinals) |
| 13 | Brockport | 9-2 | 14 | 4/29 vs. TBD (SUNYAC semifinals) |
| 14 | Montclair State | 7-0 | 15 | 4/28 vs. TBD (NJAC semifinals) |
| 15 | St. Mary's (Md.) | 7-4 | NR | 4/28 vs. No. 3 Salisbury (C2C semifinals) |
| 16 | York | 10-2 | 11 | 4/27 vs. Hood (MAC Commonwealth quarterfinals) |
| 17 | TCNJ | 5-2 | 16 | 4/28 vs. Rowan (NJAC semifinals) |
| 18 | Geneseo | 6-2 | 18 | 4/29 vs. TBD (SUNYAC semifinals) |
| 19 | Wesleyan | 3-2 | 19 | 5/1 vs. No. 4 Tufts (NESCAC championship) |
| 20 | Roanoke | 8-3 | NR | 4/30 vs. TBD (ODAC semifinals) |
Also considered: Christopher Newport (10-6), Hamilton (2-2), John Carroll (14-1), Mary Washington (5-5), Meredith (10-3), Trinity (3-3), William Smith (6-4)
Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings
Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women
HOT
No. 3 Salisbury (no change)
Amid a logjam at the top, the Seagulls have been stuck at No. 3, but they finished an impressive regular season with a notable 18-7 win over ODAC’s second-seeded Roanoke on Saturday. Salisbury is the top seed in the Coast to Coast (C2C) tournament, heading into the semifinals against fourth-seeded St. Mary’s (Md.) on Wednesday.
Among their 13 wins was another ranked, non-conference opponent in No. 16 TCNJ.
No. 4 Tufts (no change)
Tufts beat Bates 18-2 on Saturday to secure its place in the NESCAC championship game, which is being played as a one-game title bout between the top seed in the East Division and the top seed in the West Division. The Jumbos finished their five-game regular season Sunday with an impressive 11-5 victory over Division I Dartmouth.
No. 6 Ithaca (no change)
Ithaca remains undefeated and goes into the Liberty League tournament Wednesday as the top seed after beating Vassar in a pair of games over the weekend, including a 19-9 decision in the regular-season finale. The Bombers have won 16 straight games dating back to last season’s shortened campaign.
No. 7 Catholic (no change)
Catholic is 7-0 going into the Landmark Conference tournament semifinals Wednesday against fifth-seeded Susquehanna. The Cardinals beat the Riverhawks 15-4 in their regular-season finale Wednesday.
NOT
No. 16 York (-5)
The Spartans were upset 8-7 by Stevens Tech in their regular-season finale Friday after being shut out in the second half. They had a 7-3 halftime advantage, but Stevens climbed back and tied the score with 11:25 left before Natalie Fitzpatrick scored the game-winner with 6:08 left. York had just two more possessions the rest of the way, as the Ducks were able to hold onto their first lead. York goes into the MAC Commonwealth tournament as the second seed, facing seventh-seeded Hood on Tuesday in the quarterfinals.
IN
St. Mary’s (No. 15)
Two of the Seahawks’ losses were by one goal, and they’ve improved as the season went along. The other two losses were by four or fewer to Salisbury and Christopher Newport — the latter of which they avenged the following week. After putting Salisbury on the ropes in their most recent matchup on April 17 — a 14-13 loss — St. Mary’s rebounded with a 14-6 win over Southern Virginia in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference tournament opener Saturday.
Now, the Seahawks get another shot at Salisbury in the semifinals. It’s a tough road as the No. 4 seed, but St. Mary’s gave the top-seeded Seagulls their toughest matchup of the season and will look to surprise in the third meeting.
Roanoke (No. 20)
Roanoke jumps into the top 20 despite a lopsided loss to Salisbury on Saturday. That 18-7 decision was the lone loss in the Maroons’ last five games, as they now head into the Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament as the No. 2 seed. They play in the semifinals Friday at home.
OUT
Hamilton (No. 17)
After edging Trinity by a goal on April 17, the Continentals couldn’t hang with the Bantams in the rematch Sunday. Trinity exploded to a 7-1 halftime lead and won 10-5 to snap a three-game losing streak and keep Hamilton from tying Wesleyan for the top spot in the NESCAC East.
The Continentals miss out on the NESCAC championship as a result but will have a chance to play a division crossover game to finish the season.
William Smith (No. 20)
The Herons suffered their fourth loss in the regular-season finale Saturday against Brockport and move back out of the rankings. They had a two-goal lead going into halftime but were outplayed in the second half, as Brockport rallied for a 17-14 win. Mekayla Montgomery finished with a career-high 12 draw controls in the loss.
William Smith still managed to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Liberty league tournament thanks to Vassar’s loss to Ithaca. The Herons will host a conference semifinal game on Wednesday.