GRANVILLE, Ohio (May 8, 2023) – The Denison University women's lacrosse team will head to the University of Chicago for the first two rounds of the 2023 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Tournament. The Big Red will take on Hope College on Friday, May 12, with the winner of that matchup going on to face the hosts from Chicago in the second round of the tournament on Saturday, May 13.

The Big Red enter this year's NCAA Tournament 9-10 overall, but earned the North Coast Athletic Conference's automatic qualifier to the national tournament after defeating No. 21 nationally-ranked Kenyon College by a score of 14-8 in the NCAC Tournament Championship. It was Denison's 16th overall NCAC Tournament title in program history and was its eighth in 10 years under the leadership of Head Coach Amanda Daniels.

This will be Denison's 24th overall and ninth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Big Red will also be competing in their 30th postseason game since 1985. Last year, the Big Red received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament and served as a host site during the first two rounds. Thanks to the game-winning goal just over one minute into overtime by Jane Bailey, the Big Red earned a 13-12 comeback victory over No. 14 Catholic University to advance to the third round (Sweet Sixteen) of the tournament for the fourth year in a row before falling 17-9 at No. 4-ranked Gettysburg College.

Hope is 12-5 and claimed its first Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) tournament championship in school history with an 18-13 victory over Saint Mary's (Indiana) College, and in the process, claimed their first-ever berth in the NCAA Division III tournament. Hope had already won its first conference championship this season, going a perfect 7-0 in regular season games against MIAA opponents. Denison's only previous matchup against Hope came in the inaugural NCAA season for the Flying Dutch (Mar. 22, 2013), where the Big Red were victorious by a score of 17-1.

Chicago, which is ranked No. 17 in the latest 2023 ILWomen/IWLCA Division III Poll, is 16-2 and coasted to a 19-3 win over Carroll University in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament Championship on Saturday. The Maroons added a 2023 postseason championship to their trophy case after notching the 2023 regular season title as well, a feat UChicago has now achieved in three-straight seasons. The Maroons have a 3-2 all-time record in three NCAA appearances. The Big Red are 1-1 all-time against the Maroons, winning 10-7 to advance to the NCAA Division III Final Four for the first time in program history back in 2021 before falling 20-9 at home earlier this season (Mar. 4). In the first matchup between the two teams in 2021, Denison outscored Chicago 4-1 in the second half to complete the victory, but in the meeting earlier this season, the Big Red let up nine goals in the second quarter and could never recover.
 
2023 NCAA DIII Women's Lacrosse Championship Selections
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