Middlebury Earns Top Seed for Women's Lacrosse Championship

HARTFORD, Conn. – Middlebury won all nine of its conference games to earn the top seed for the inaugural NESCAC Women's Lacrosse Championship tournament. The Panthers (9-0 conference, 11-0 overall) will host the semifinals on Saturday, May 5 and the championship game on Sunday, May 6.

The tournament is sure to provide exciting competition with the NESCAC being the only conference in the nation with five teams ranked in the top-20. In the latest IWLCA Division III Women's Lacrosse Rankings, Middlebury and Amherst were ranked 1-2, respectively. Williams was ranked fourth, Bowdoin 15th, and Tufts 20th. Colby and Bates each received votes. Middlebury has captured two of the last four national championships and has advanced to at least the national semifinals in each of the past seven seasons. Amherst advanced to the national title game two years ago and come up short to the national champion Panthers 10-9. Williams defeated Middlebury in last year's tournament semifinals 11-9 to advance to the national championship game before falling to The College of New Jersey. Middlebury and Williams entered the week as the only two undefeated teams in Division III women's lacrosse before the Panthers won a midweek battle between the two teams.

Second-seeded Amherst (8-1 conference), third-seeded Williams (7-2), and fourth-seeded Colby (5-4) earned home games in the opening round of the tournament, which begins on Tuesday, May 1. Amherst, which earned the second seed with a thrilling 8-7 double overtime victory at Williams on Saturday, will host seventh-seeded Connecticut College (3-6). In an early April matchup between the two teams, Amherst posted a 13-3 road victory. Williams plays at home against sixth-seeded Bates (3-6). The teams met at Bates early in the season with the Ephs winning 18-6. Colby hosts fifth-seeded Tufts (4-5) with the Jumbos trying to repeat their 10-5 mid-April win at Colby.

The top seven teams in regular season conference play qualify for the NESCAC championship tournament. The top-seeded team hosts the semifinal and final rounds, while the next three seeds play home games in the first round. The top seed faces the lowest remaining seed in one semifinal and the other two first round winners face off in the other semifinal. The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship tournament.

2001 NESCAC WOMEN'S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP
First Round - Tuesday, May 1 at Higher Seeds
No. 7 Connecticut College (3-6, 6-8) at No. 2 Amherst (8-1, 12-1) - 4:00 p.m.
No. 6 Bates (3-6, 9-6) at No. 3 Williams (7-2, 9-2) - 4:00 p.m.
No. 5 Tufts (4-5, 8-5) at No. 4 Colby (5-4, 8-4) - 4:00 p.m.

Semifinals - Saturday, May 5 at Middlebury
Lowest remaining seed at No. 1 Middlebury (9-0, 11-0) - 12:00 p.m.
Remaining first round winners - 3:00 p.m.

Championship - Sunday, May 6 at Middlebury
Semifinal winners - 12:00 p.m.