As of this morning, exactly two of 29 slots have been confirmed for the NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse tournament.
The two winners of the nation’s most prominent women’s lacrosse competitions, Northwestern in the Big Ten and North Carolina in the ACC, are going to go into the bracket, likely as the top two overall seeds.
Thirteen more teams will be winning automatic bids in a weekend which will look like the madcap scene in It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World when the principal players converge in a park in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. in a search for a cash fortune buried under “The Big W.”
As good as women’s lacrosse has become the last decade, it is difficult for most conferences other than the Big Ten and the ACC to send more than one representative to “The Big Dance.”
Here, however, are three conferences to watch in the multi-bid conversation:
PATRIOT LEAGUE
Candidates: Army West Point, Naval Academy, Loyola
The skinny: The Patriot has been one of the most entertaining leagues to watch on a regular basis this season mainly because it has been fun to watch how the relationships between players and coaches have grown. This especially goes for West Point, where it can now be said that this current Black Knights team is Michelle Tumolo’s team. Loyola, after going for a number of years without losing a Patriot League fixture, lost two this season to fall to third seed in this year’s conference tournament. I think, however, you may see as many as three teams making it into the bracket.
IVY LEAGUE
Candidates: Princeton, Pennsylvania, Yale
The skinny: Remember when Harvard was ranked in the nation’s Top 25 in the preseason? Well, in the topsy-turvy nature of the Ivies, it’s Yale who is the top seed and Harvard is in the cellar, and not playing in the postseason. Yale, despite an impressive win over Michigan this season, could find itself on the outside if it does not make the final. The Ivies should send two to the tournament
BIG 12
Candidates: Florida, Colorado
The skinny: Get used to it: the Big 12 is going to be expanding in the next few seasons (I see Central Florida and the University of Utah as prime contenders), and athletically-oriented state schools will be leading the charge. Colorado and Florida have quality players and quality coaches, and I see both in the tournament.
Enjoy the games, folks.