After capturing the North Coast Athletic Conference Men's Lacrosse Tournament Title on May 7, Denison (16-3) earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament which begins this week. The Big Red received a first-round bye and will open the tournament at home, hosting a four-team pod on Saturday and Sunday, May 13-14.
Denison will be joined in the 38-team field by Kenyon (15-1), which garnered one of only 10 at-large berths into the tournament. The Owls also earned a first-round bye and will travel to Dickinson (15-3) in Carlisle, Pa., for a second-round matchup against Stevens Institute of Technology (17-2).
The Big Red qualified for the NCAA postseason tournament by winning the NCAC Tournament for the eighth time in program history with a thrilling 14-13 victory over Kenyon on Sunday, May 7. Denison will be making its 28th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and be competing in its 49th postseason game since 1982. The Big Red hold a 22-27 record in the national tourney and has advanced to the national semifinals four times, with the last coming in 2017.
Denison will face off against the winner of a first-round tilt between Illinois Wesleyan (14-3) and Aurora (15-4). Illinois Wesleyan, the automatic qualifier out of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, advances to the national tournament for the fifth time. The Titans hold a 2-4 record in their previous appearances on the national stage. The AQ out of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference, the Spartans make their seventh trip to the national tournament and hold a 4-6 record.
Denison is 2-0 all-time against Illinois Wesleyan with wins of 25-11 in the third round of the NCAA Tournament in 2017 and 25-9 in the second round in 2018. The Big Red are 3-0 all-time against Aurora, including wins of 11-8 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and 12-3 in the second round in 2016.
The other half of the Denison regional features Lynchburg squaring off against St. John Fisher, also a second-round matchup. Lynchburg, an at-large pick from the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, enters national play for the 16th time and holds a 13-15 record all-time in the tournament. The Hornets finished as national runners-up in 2015. St. John Fisher, the AQ from the Empire 8, makes its fourth national appearance and is 3-3 in the tournament.
Denison is 3-2 all-time against Lynchburg and is 1-1 against the Hornets in the NCAA Tournament. The most recent meeting between the two teams was a 13-12 defeat for the Big Red in 2022. Denison won its only previous matchup against St. John Fisher with a 10-9 double-overtime win in February 2020.
The Denison vs Ill. Wesleyan/Aurora winner will meet the winner of the Lynchburg/St. John Fisher in the third round, with a trip to the national quarterfinals and semifinals on the line. Those matchups are scheduled for May 20-21 at campus sites.
Kenyon finished the regular season as NCAC tri-champions, along with Denison and Ohio Wesleyan. The Owls are making their fifth NCAA appearance, and their third under head coach Doug Misarti.
Misarti is familiar with Stevens, after spending eight years as part of the Ducks’ program. Stevens earned the automatic berth from the Middle Atlantic Conferences Freedom Conference and makes its 12th trip to the national tourney. The Ducks are 8-12 in their previous appearances.
The winner of the Kenyon/Stevens contest will face either host Dickinson (15-3), the AQ from the Centennial Conference, or the winner of the John Carroll (14-2)/Lake Forest (13-4) first-round contest. Dickinson has six tournament berths under its belt and has a 7-6 record over those trips. The Blue Streaks, the AQ from the Ohio Athletic Conference, make their seventh trip to the post-season and are 3-6 in their previous appearances. The Foresters, the AQ from the Midwest Conference, make their NCAA Tournament debut.
Kenyon and Stevens have met only once, an 8-4 win for the Ducks in 2009. The Owls last matched up with Dickinson in 2012, a 15-6 Red Devil victory in the NCAA Tournament; Kenyon is 1-6 versus the Red Devils all-time. Kenyon has never squared off against John Carroll; the Owls are 4-1 versus Lake Forest, but the two teams haven’t matched up on the field since 1994.
The 2023 DIII men's lacrosse championship is set for Sunday, May 28, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA. That game will be proceeded by the Division II championship. The Division I semifinals and championship are Saturday, May 27 and Monday, May 29 at the same site.