Women’s Lacrosse Earns At-Large Bid to NCAA Tournament
May 03 | Women's Lacrosse
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers women's lacrosse is officially dancing, as the program earned an at-large bid to the 2026 NCAA Tournament. The Scarlet Knights open postseason play against Princeton on Friday, May 8 at 2 p.m. in College Park, Maryland. The winner faces No. 3 seed Maryland on Sunday, May 10.
Friday's game will stream on ESPN+. Ticket information for this weekend's games will be made available later. RU is one of a record six Big Ten programs to advance to the NCAA Tournament, as it joins No. 1 seed Northwestern, No. 3 seed Maryland, No. 4 seed Johns Hopkins, No. 7 seed Michigan and Penn State.
"I have so much Rutgers pride," Lehman said. "This team is very special. I've told them that all year and told them we just had to keep believing in who we are and what we've done thus far as a team. They've earned that opportunity tonight and I could not be more proud of them."
RU navigated one of the toughest schedules in the country to finish the season with its most wins (10) and Big Ten victories (4) since 2022. Ten of Rutgers' 18 games came against programs ranked in the IWLCA Coaches Poll, including five currently in the top 10: No. 2 Northwestern, No. 4 Maryland, No. 5 Johns Hopkins (twice) and No. 8 Michigan. The Scarlet Knights delivered five wins over the RPI Top 40, including a signature 13-12 victory over the then-No. 6 Wolverines on April 9 in Piscataway.
Five student-athletes earned 2026 All-Big Ten accolades – Katie Buck (First Team), Caroline Ling (Second Team), Gabby Mariani (Freshman), Annalise Messina (Freshman) and Kate Theofield (Freshman) – the most all-conference selections for the program since its historic 2022 campaign.
"I'm just so unbelievably proud of this group of girls," Buck said. "It's such a special group, and it just came down to belief and trust we had in each other. Especially our senior class, we have overcome so much adversity, and I'm so proud of the hard work we put in to get to this spot."
Rutgers smashed several individual program records this spring. Ling tied current assistant coach Taralyn Naslonski for the team's single-season points record with 90 in 2026, while also becoming the 29th Scarlet Knight in program history to surpass 100 career points. Buck secured the program's single-season draw control record, while senior captain Lily Dixon produced the most career assists (120) and single-season assists (48) in school history.
"It means everything to us," Dixon said. "We were all just praying that all of our hard work would pay off, and this is the end goal. This team has so much talent, and I am really excited to do it with my whole team and my senior class."
Friday's game will stream on ESPN+. Ticket information for this weekend's games will be made available later. RU is one of a record six Big Ten programs to advance to the NCAA Tournament, as it joins No. 1 seed Northwestern, No. 3 seed Maryland, No. 4 seed Johns Hopkins, No. 7 seed Michigan and Penn State.
After competing in the NCAA Tournament just once in its first 44 years as a varsity program, Rutgers has now advanced to the NCAA Tournament in three of the past six seasons under head coach Melissa Lehman. With Lehman at the helm, the Scarlet Knights also made back-to-back appearances in 2021 and 2022.No better feeling!#NCAAWLAX | #GoRU pic.twitter.com/SHci1IvuMD
— Rutgers Women's Lacrosse (@rutgers_wlax) May 4, 2026
"I have so much Rutgers pride," Lehman said. "This team is very special. I've told them that all year and told them we just had to keep believing in who we are and what we've done thus far as a team. They've earned that opportunity tonight and I could not be more proud of them."
RU navigated one of the toughest schedules in the country to finish the season with its most wins (10) and Big Ten victories (4) since 2022. Ten of Rutgers' 18 games came against programs ranked in the IWLCA Coaches Poll, including five currently in the top 10: No. 2 Northwestern, No. 4 Maryland, No. 5 Johns Hopkins (twice) and No. 8 Michigan. The Scarlet Knights delivered five wins over the RPI Top 40, including a signature 13-12 victory over the then-No. 6 Wolverines on April 9 in Piscataway.
Five student-athletes earned 2026 All-Big Ten accolades – Katie Buck (First Team), Caroline Ling (Second Team), Gabby Mariani (Freshman), Annalise Messina (Freshman) and Kate Theofield (Freshman) – the most all-conference selections for the program since its historic 2022 campaign.
"I'm just so unbelievably proud of this group of girls," Buck said. "It's such a special group, and it just came down to belief and trust we had in each other. Especially our senior class, we have overcome so much adversity, and I'm so proud of the hard work we put in to get to this spot."
Rutgers smashed several individual program records this spring. Ling tied current assistant coach Taralyn Naslonski for the team's single-season points record with 90 in 2026, while also becoming the 29th Scarlet Knight in program history to surpass 100 career points. Buck secured the program's single-season draw control record, while senior captain Lily Dixon produced the most career assists (120) and single-season assists (48) in school history.
"It means everything to us," Dixon said. "We were all just praying that all of our hard work would pay off, and this is the end goal. This team has so much talent, and I am really excited to do it with my whole team and my senior class."
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/ Women's LacrosseRutgers women's lacrosse selected for 2026 NCAA Tournament
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