TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - After winning their first conference championship in program history last season, Grove City College earned the top spot by a narrow margin in the 2025 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was released Thursday along with the league's Players to Watch list.

The preseason coaches' poll was voted on by the PAC's 10 head coaches, which includes five coaches in the first season with their programs.

One of those new coaches will guide Grove City in their quest to repeat as PAC champions, as Emma Olson takes over the Wolverines after two years as an assistant at her alma mater Calvin College and last year as an assistant at the University of Detroit Mercy. Grove City secured four first-place votes and totaled 76 points to finish in first, just edging Washington & Jefferson College, who had three first-place votes and 72 points. Chatham University collected a pair of first-place votes and 63 points to take third and placing fourth was Allegheny College, who was voted first on one ballot and totaled 59 points. 

Coming in fifth in the voting was Westminster College with 48 points and they were followed by Thiel College in sixth (41), Saint Vincent College in seventh (35), Franciscan University in eighth (30), Bethany College in ninth (16). Geneva College, who is playing their first varsity season in 2025, finished in 10th place (10). 

Grove City captured its first PAC title in 2024 after entering the postseason as the three seed. After dispatching Westminster 17-5 in the quarterfinals, the Wolverines traveled to No. 2 Allegheny and pulled out a 14-13 double-overtime victory in the semifinals. In the title game at three-time defending champion W&J, Grove City streaked out to a 13-4 lead after three quarters and then held off a furious Presidents' rally in the final period to claim a 13-10 win. The win also sent the Wolverines to the NCAA Tournament for the first time and their season finished with a 15-6 overall record following a loss to St. Mary's (Md.) College in the first round.

The Players to Watch list features 16 players from the 2023 All-PAC teams, including seven First Team selections. A pair of major award winners return to the field for 2025, including Grove City senior defender Amber Wartman and Thiel senior midfielder Ashlyn Wightman. 

Wartman earned PAC Defensive Player of the Year, which marked two consecutive years a Grove City player earned the distinction after senior Sarah Jackson was recognized in 2023. Wartman anchored a defensive unit that allowed 8.69 goals per game and also forced 13.95 turnovers a game, most in the conference. The Wolverines limited nine opponents to eight goals or less in a game this season, including five PAC opponents. Individually, Wartman ranked second in the PAC with 2.86 caused turnovers per game and had six games with four or more CTs. She also led the team with 59 ground balls, ranked second on the squad with 66 draw controls and added five goals and seven assists for 12 points during the season.

Wightman, the PAC Midfielder of the Year, earned the honor after she led the PAC in goals and points for the second year in a row. In addition to leading the conference in both stats, Wightman ranks second in the nation with her 96 goals and 14th in Division III with 109 points. She posted 10 goals in wins over West Virginia Wesleyan and at Bethany and amassed eight or more points in nine different games. In addition to her scoring, Wightman ranked third in the conference in draw controls (103), tied for fifth in ground balls (55) and ranked ninth with 31 caused turnovers.

The women are scheduled to play a full nine-game round-robin conference schedule in 2025. The league's six-team championship tournament will open with quarterfinal play on Tuesday, April 29, with the first and second seeds receiving byes. The PAC semifinals are scheduled for Thursday, May 1, and the Championship game will be played Saturday, May 3, with all games hosted by the higher seeds.

The winner of the PAC Championship Tournament will receive the league's automatic-qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. The field for this year's Division III Championship will be announced on Monday, May 5, with first and second round games scheduled for May 10-11.
 

2025 PAC Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish)
School (first-place votes)	Points	2024 records
1. Grove City (4)	76	15-6, 7-2 PAC
2. W&J (3)	72	11-7, 9-0 PAC
3. Chatham (2)	63	10-8, 6-3 PAC
4. Allegheny (1)	59	9-7, 8-1 PAC
5. Westminster	48	5-11, 4-5 PAC
6. Thiel	41	9-7, 5-4 PAC
7. Saint Vincent	35	5-12, 1-8 PAC
8. Franciscan	30	3-11, 3-6 PAC
9. Bethany	16	4-12, 2-7 PAC
10. Geneva	10	First varsity season in 2025

2025 PAC Women's Lacrosse Players to Watch
1 = 2024 First Team All-PAC / 2 = Second Team / HM = Honorable Mention

Allegheny
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Ema Caragein (2)	Sr.	A	Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton LaSalle
Amelia Henderson (1)	Jr.	D	Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny
Lauren Petrarca (2)	Sr.	M	Simi Valley, Calif./Royal

 

Bethany
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Abbie Carpenter	Sr.	A	Kent, Ohio/Kent Roosevelt
Leah Crihfield	Sr.	G	Buckhannon, W.Va./Buckhannon-Upshur

 

Chatham
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Sam Beall-Dennell (1)	Sr.	M	Sykesville, Md./Century
Bailey Donofrio (HM)	Grad.	M	Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley
Erin Goodwin	Sr.	M	Milford, Conn./Jonathan Law

 

Franciscan
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Gianna Dinoto	So.	A/M	Pasadena, Md./Mount DeSales Academy
Annie Lewis	So.	A	Wilmington, N.C./EA Laney
Theresa Lyle (HM)	Sr.	M	McMurray, Pa./Seton LaSalle
Nadia Pinsonault	Fr.	M	Landing, N.J./Villa Walsh Academy
Kiera Wilson	Jr.	A	Holley, N.Y./Brockport

  

Geneva
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Julianna Easley	So.	A	Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills
Mara Fowlow	Fr.	M/GK	Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk
Taylor Robinson	Fr.	A/M	Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove

 

Grove City
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Taylor Blythe (1)	So.	A	Mendon, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima
Sarah Jackson (1)	Sr.	D	Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield
Jess Robinette	Fr.	M	Mohnton, Pa./Twin Valley
Gwen Shilling	So.	A	Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional
Amber Wartman (1)	Sr.	M	Ellicott City, Md./Mount Hebron

  

Saint Vincent
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Brianna Mack	Sr.	D	Stewartstown, Pa./Kennard-Dale
Bailey Nicely (HM)	Jr.	A	Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk
Gabby Salandro	Sr.	M	Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional
Alexandria Votovich	Sr.	D	Woodbridge, Va./Saint John Paul the Great
Carolina Walters	Jr.	A	Latrobe, Pa./Homeschooled

 

Thiel
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Shayla Foster	Jr.	D	East Liverpool, Ohio/East Liverpool
Madison Liggett	5th	G	Baltimore, Md./Catholic
Ashlyn Wightman (1)	5th	M	Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler Area

   

W&J
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Caleigh Bogats (2)	Jr.	M	Oakdale, Pa./Chartiers Valley
Sammy Hartz (2)	So.	D	Ijamsville, Md./Oakdale
Anna Kloehn (2)	Jr.	A	Canton, Ohio/Jackson
Ella Phillips (1)	Sr.	D	Arnold, Md./Broadneck

   

Westminster
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Allyssa Anstis	Fr.	M	Coraopolis, Pa./Moon
Isabella Cespedes (2)	Jr.	D	Merrick, N.J./Sanford H. Calhoun
Chloe Courinos	Jr.	A	Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk
Julia Ravazza	Jr.	A	Twain Harte, Calif./Dublin
Felicia Young	Sr.	M	Darlington, Pa./Blackhawk