KINGS POINT, N.Y. (May 9, 2025) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy women's lacrosse team will compete in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in program history this weekend when the Mariners travel down to the campus of Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J., for the opening rounds. USMMA will square off against Western Connecticut State on Saturday, May 10, beginning at 2 p.m. at the Rowan Soccer & Lacrosse Complex.
 
Important Links

• Complete Tournament Bracket: Interactive / PDF-Printable
• Live Stats
• Live Video
• Digital Championship Program
• Rowan's Championship Central Page 

Ticket Information
Ticket prices are $6 for adults, $3 for students and senior citizens and $2 for children. Tickets are available at the gate on the day of the game and are CASH ONLY.
 
How They Got Here
The top-seeded Mariners won the 2025 Skyline Conference Championship with a 12-10 home victory over #2-seed Farmingdale State on Saturday, May 3, to earn the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. This is the fifth time in program history Merchant Marine will compete in the national tourney.  The Mariners boast a 13-2 overall record and were a perfect 8-0 in Skyline action during the regular season.
 
The Mariners' first-round opponent Western Connecticut State won the Little East Conference on the road this past Saturday, avenging a regular-season loss to the LEC Tournament's top-seeded Plymouth State by capturing a 17-9 victory up in Plymouth, N.H. The Wolves sit at 16-2 overall and were 7-1 in Little East action.
 
Sunday's opponent, the Profs of Rowan University, are the #23 team in the nation and reached the NCAA Tournament via an at-large bid. They lost in the NJAC Championship game to then-#13 TCNJ, 16-12, this past Saturday in Ewing, N.J. Rowan is 15-3 overall and went 4-1 in NJAC action.
 
A Closer Look At The Mariners
The Mariners have won their last 11 games dating back to March 26. They took home three of the four major Skyline Conference postseason awards, as sophomore midfielder Leslie Wysong (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) was the league's Defensive Player of the Year, freshman midfielder Reese Ripley (Denver, Colo.) took home the Rookie of the Year award and 13th-year head coach Kyle Simensky was selected by his peers as the Coach of the Year.
 
Wysong, Ripley and three other Mariners – senior attacker Lauren Jablonowski (Levittown, N.Y.), sophomore midfielder Grace Picozzi (Collegeville, Pa.) and junior defender Nicole Nagengast (Seaford, N.Y.) - and were chosen to the All-Skyline First Team, while three others earned Second Team honors – senior attacker Gianna Russo (Wake Forest, N.C.), junior defender Keira Collins (Sayville, N.Y.) and freshman defender Juliet Trouse (Riverdale, N.J.).
 
As a team, the Mariners rank in the top-28 in the NCAA in 11 categories. 

• Third in both holding opponents to just 5.13 goals per game and with a 12.13 scoring margin
• Sixth with 27.53 shots on goal per game
• Seventh with 17.27 goals per game
• 11th with 26.20 individual points per game
• 12th with a .867 win percentage
• 13th in three categories: assists per game (8.93), ground balls per game (25.00) and shots per game (34.33)
• 21st with a .503 shot percentage
• and 28th with a .528 free position percentage 

Individually, junior Karianna Eagle (Little Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) ranks second among all Division III goalies with a 5.15 goals against average. Jablonowski is fifth in the nation with 7.20 points per game, 12th with 3.33 assists per game, 14th with 108 total points, 21st with 50 total assists and 37th with 3.87 goals per game. Wysong ranks 22nd in the country with a .667 free position percentage.
 
To view the Mariners' entire NCAA Statistical Ranking, click here.
 
Scouting The Other Teams In South Jersey This Weekend
WestConn, out of Danbury, Conn., is led by second-year head coach Rachael Griffith. The Wolves have reached the NCAA Tournament for the third time in five years. They boast the Little East Goalkeeper of the Year in senior Molly Bresnahan as well as a total of five All-LEC Team selections.
 
Three Wolves earned First Team honors – Bresnahan, junior attacker Madison Ratchford and sophomore defender Anneliese Reggio, while two were chosen to the Second Team – senior attacker Savannah Kom and sophomore midfielder Isabella Pota.
 
As a team, WestConn ranks in the top-38 among DIII programs in five categories. 

• Sixth with a .533 saves percentage
• Ninth with a .889 win percentage
• 33rd with both 32.78 shots per game and allowing opponents just 7.94 goals per game
• and 38th with just 15.17 turnovers per game 

Bresnahan and Ratchford rank in the top-50 among all Division III players in a combined seven categories. Bresnahan is seventh in the nation with a .533 save percentage, 21st with an 8.15 goals against average and 28th with 162 total saves. Ratchford ranks 32nd with 66 total goals, 47th with 7.78 shots per game, 48th with 86 total points and 49th with 3.67 goals per game. To view the Wolves' entire NCAA Statistical Rankings, click here.
 
#23 Rowan is led by 18th-year head coach Lindsay Delaney, who along with her staff won the 2025 NJAC Coaching Staff of the Year honors. The Profs also boast the NJAC Midfielder of the Year in senior Molly Green and the NJAC Defensive Player of the Year in Katie Montenero. Rowan had four players land on the All-NJAC First Team – Green, Montenero, senior attacker Calista Burke and junior attacker Elaina Corson. One Prof, graduate student goalie Mel Rodgers was an All-NJAC Honorable Mention. To view the Profs' entire NCAA Statistical Rankings, click here.
 
Looking Ahead
The winner of Saturday's USMMA-WestConn First Round contest on Saturday will move on to the Second Round to face #23 Rowan. That game will also begin at 2 p.m. at the Rowan Soccer & Lacrosse Complex.
 
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