Ithaca into Top 10 of USA Lacrosse Division III Women's Top 20

Conference championship weekend is in the rearview mirror, and now all eyes are on the NCAA tournament. The 46-team field was announced Monday morning.

The weekend was filled with exciting matchups, and all lived up to the hype. Ithaca beat William Smith again, this time for the Liberty League crown. Franklin & Marshall narrowly defeated Gettysburg in the Centennial Conference championship, and Middlebury’s record remained perfect against a hot Wesleyan team in the NESCAC final.

Teams had one last chance to sharpen up, and now every game is a win-or-go-home scenario. Take a look at how conference championships affected the final regular season Top 20. The last Top 20 of the spring will come in the days following the NCAA tournament.

USA LACROSSE DIVISION III
WOMEN’S TOP 20

1. Middlebury, 18-0 (Prev: 1)
2. Wesleyan, 15-3 (Prev: 2)
3. Franklin & Marshall, 15-3 (Prev: 6)
4. Tufts, 14-3 (Prev: 3)
5. Gettysburg, 16-2 (Prev: 5)
6. William Smith, 17-3 (Prev: 4)
7. Washington and Lee, 16-3 (Prev: 7)
8. Salisbury, 14-3 (Prev: 8)
9. Ithaca, 17-1 (Prev. 11)
10. TCNJ, 14-4 (Prev: 9)
11. Pomona-Pitzer, 17-1 (Prev: 10)
12. Colby, 11-6 (Prev: 12)
13. Roanoke, 15-4 (Prev: 13)
14. Stevens, 16-3 (Prev. 14)
15. York, 13-6 (Prev: 15)
16. Christopher Newport, 13-6 (Prev. 17)
17. Babson, 16-2 (Prev. 18)
18. MIT, 16-4 (Prev. 16)
19. Trinity, 8-8 (Prev. 19)
20. Amherst, 8-8 (Prev. 20)

Also considered (alphabetical order): Bowdoin, Chicago, Haverford, Shenandoah, Williams

HOT

Ithaca (+2)

Ithaca has a ton of momentum heading into the NCAA tournament, having won the Liberty League championship this weekend. The Bombers have only lost one game all season and are on a 14-game winning streak.

Middlebury (no change)

The first time Middlebury took on Wesleyan this season, it was a close, down to the wire affair. On Sunday, the Panthers rolled through them 11-5. Middlebury hasn’t lost since May 8, 2022, and the Panthers don’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.

NOT

MIT (-2)

MIT proved to be a solid team this season, but Babson had its number in both regular season play and the NEWMAC final. With that, they slide down two spots in this week’s Top 20.

William Smith (-2)

William Smith is heading into the NCAA tournament colder than it’d like to be, but it has a lot of veteran experience that can still help make another deep tournament run.