The best teams shine when the pressure mounts, and the top five held serve as the regular season comes to a close for this week's Nike/US Lacrosse Division III Women's Top 20. No. 1 William Smith, No. 2 Washington and Lee, No. 3 TCNJ, No. 4 Brockport and No. 5 Gettysburg captured multiple victories last week, and each will test familiar foes in league tournaments prior to the 9:30 p.m. ET Sunday NCAA tournament selection show on ncaachampionships.com.
The Herons draw Rochester Friday, a week after defeating it, 15-5. The Lions face Stockton Wednesday, while the opponents for the Generals, Eagles and Bullets are pending other first-round matchups.
York had a chance to win its first Capital Athletic Conference tournament championship, but instead fell to 0-5 vs. Salisbury in the final. In the NESCAC, Colby and Middlebury advanced by the slimmest of margins, joined in the final four by Hamilton and Trinity.
May 1, 2017 |
W/L |
Prev |
Next |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Smith | 16-1 | 1 | 5/5 vs. Rochester |
| 2 | Washington and Lee | 14-1 | 2 | 5/6 vs. Bridgewater or Lynchbrug |
| 3 | TCNJ | 13-1 | 3 | 5/3 vs. Stockton |
| 4 | Brockport | 14-1 | 4 | 5/6 vs. Oneonta or Oswego |
| 5 | Gettysburg | 15-2 | 5 | 5/6 vs. Dickinson or Washington College |
| 6 | Colby | 13-3 | 7 | 5/6 at No. 7 Middlebury |
| 7 | Middlebury | 13-3 | 8 | 5/6 vs. No. 6 Colby |
| 8 | Hamilton | 12-4 | 10 | 5/6 vs. No. 10 Trinity |
| 9 | Ithaca | 13-3 | 11 | 5/6 vs. Nazareth |
| 10 | Trinity | 13-3 | 12 | 5/6 vs. No. 8 Hamilton |
| 11 | York | 14-3 | 6 | TBA |
| 12 | Messiah | 13-2 | 13 | 5/3 vs. Lebanon Valley or Lycoming |
| 13 | Cortland | 12-4 | 9 | 5/5 vs. Buffalo State or Geneseo |
| 14 | St. John Fisher | 12-4 | 14 | 5/6 vs. Stevens |
| 15 | Franklin & Marshall | 14-4 | 18 | 5/6 vs. No. 20 Muhlenberg |
| 16 | Salisbury | 13-5 | 19 | TBA |
| 17 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps | 16-1 | 16 | 5/6 vs. Chapman |
| 18 | Wesleyan | 11-5 | 15 | TBA |
| 19 | Catholic | 11-4 | NR | 5/3 vs. Drew |
| 20 | Muhlenberg | 13-3 | 20 | 5/6 at No. 15 Frankling & Marshall |
Also Considered: Bowdoin, Cabrini, Colorado College, Denison, Farmingdale State, Mary Washington, Meredith, Oberlin, Rhodes, Stevens, Tufts
Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings
Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women
HOT
Colby (+1)
The Mules have won 11 straight, the last in dramatic fashion via an 8-7 home win over then-No. 15 Wesleyan in the NESCAC quarterfinals Saturday. The Cardinals jumped ahead 3-0, but Colby forged a 5-5 tie by halftime. Izzy Scribano made five of her six saves in the second half for the Mules, who advanced when Madeleine Hatch scored 2:55 into overtime. They'll travel to No. 7 Middlebury, which is hosting the league semifinals and final this weekend.
NOT
York (-5)
The Spartans earned the top seed for the Capital Athletic Conference tournament and advanced to the championship game at home, where they fell to Salisbury for the fifth consecutive time in the league final. Caitlin Rankin scored York's only goals in a 7-2 defeat, which sours an otherwise terrific regular season. The Spartans likely will receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, qualifying for the sixth time in seven seasons.
NEW
Catholic
The Cardinals have won four straight to re-enter the Top 20 after reaching the Top 10 earlier this season and tumbling out. Included in that stretch is a win over No. 15 F&M. Catholic's seniors finished 24-0 in Landmark Conference regular-season play, and they'll look to extend postseason mastery in a league semifinal Wednesday at home against Drew.
OUT
Bowdoin
A tough finish for the Polar Bears, getting nipped at Tufts to finish the regular season and then being unable to erase an early deficit in a 12-9 loss at then-No. 10 Hamilton in the NESCAC quarterfinals.