Women's Lacrosse | 2/12/2026 12:00:00 PM
TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Grove City College, winners of back-to-back conference titles, was voted first in the 2026 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was announced Thursday along with the league's Players to Watch list. The preseason coaches' poll was voted on by the PAC's head coaches.
Grove City, led by second-year head coach Emma Olson, gathered eight first-place votes in scoring 89 points to claim the top spot in this year's preseason balloting. Only three points separated the next three teams in the voting, with Washington & Jefferson College, aided by the final two first-place votes, earning 76 points to come in second. The Presidents narrowly edged out 2025 PAC Tournament runner-up Chatham University, who was third with 74 points, and Westminster College, who had 73 points to rank fourth.
Finishing fifth in the voting was Allegheny College with 56 points and they were followed by Saint Vincent College in sixth (45), Thiel College in seventh (44), Bethany College in eighth (39), Geneva College in ninth (26) and Hiram College (12). In addition to joining the PAC for its first season, Hiram is also returning as a varsity program for the first time since 2020. The Terriers competed in the North Coast Athletic Conference from 2013-20, where the program combined for seven all-conference selections and scored over 200 goals throughout its previous tenure.
Every team in the conference will be trying to dethrone Grove City, who rolled through an undefeated regular season in the conference on their way to a second straight PAC crown. The Wolverines went 9-0 against PAC teams in the regular season to earn the top seed for the conference tournament and then bested Westminster 17-7 in the semifinals and Chatham 11-7 in the championship game to earn their second title in a row. Earning the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year as well, the Wolverines were defeated by John Carroll in the opening round and finished the campaign with a 12-7 record.
The Players to Watch list is headlined by 14 players from the 2025 All-PAC teams, including four First Team selections. Among those returning to the field this season are last year's Offensive PLayer of the Year in Westminster senior attack Julia Ravazza and Allegheny junior defender Amelia Henderson, the 2025 PAC Defensive Player of the Year.
In her first season with the program after transferring to Westminster, Ravazza posted incredible numbers in becoming the first Titan to earn Offensive Player of the Year since 2019. Her 57 assists led the conference, while her 60 goals and 117 points ranked second in the league. Much of her damage came in conference play with 37 goals and 38 assists in nine league outings, as her 75 points in PAC play was more than any other player. Ravazza had five games with 10+ points last season, highlighted by a five-goal, five-assist performance in the Titans' 17-8 win over Thiel in the PAC Tournament Quarterfinals.
Henderson was recognized as the top defensive player after she finished second in the conference with 66 ground balls and third in caused turnovers with 39. She had five games with five or more ground balls and had 5+ caused turnovers in three games, with both stats seeing a season-high with 10 GBs and six caused turnovers in an April 12th match-up with Thiel.
Other First Team All-PAC selections from last year who will be back in their team's line-ups are Grove City junior attack Taylor Blythe (Honeoye Falls, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima) and W&J senior midfielder Mya Bolinda (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills). Blythe was Grove City's leading scorer in their championship run with 74 points, which tied for third in the PAC, while her 42 assists ranked second in the conference as she earned First Team All-PAC for the second year in a row.
Bolinda garnered the initial all-conference honor of her career after she led the Presidents and matched Blythe with 74 points. The W&J midfielder was also the team's leading goal scorer with 49, which ranked fifth in the PAC, and was ninth in the league with a team-high 59 draw controls.
The women will play a full round-robin conference schedule in 2026. The PAC's six-team championship tournament will open with quarterfinal play on Tuesday, April 28, with the top two seeds receiving byes. The PAC semifinals are set for Thursday, April 30, and the Championship game will be played Saturday, May 2, 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 4, with first and second round games scheduled for May 9-10.
| 2026 PAC Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish) |
| School (first-place votes) |
Points |
2025 records |
| 1. Grove City (8) |
89 |
12-7, 9-0 PAC |
| 2. W&J (2) |
76 |
10-5, 8-1 PAC |
| 3. Chatham |
74 |
11-7, 7-2 PAC |
| 4. Westminster |
73 |
12-6, 6-3 PAC |
| 5. Allegheny |
56 |
5-12, 4-5 PAC |
| 6. Saint Vincent |
45 |
3-12, 1-8 PAC |
| 7. Thiel |
44 |
11-5, 5-4 PAC |
| 8. Bethany |
39 |
3-14, 2-7 PAC |
| 9. Geneva |
26 |
0-9, 0-15 PAC |
| 10. Hiram |
18 |
First varsity season since 2020 |
2026 PAC Women's Lacrosse Players to Watch
1 = 2025 First Team All-PAC / 2 = Second Team / HM = Honorable Mention
| Allegheny |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Ella Ashton |
So. |
G |
Landisville, Pa./Hempfield |
| Emma Foley |
Fr. |
G |
Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge |
| Amelia Henderson (1) |
Sr. |
D |
Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny |
| Erin Lowthert (HM) |
So. |
M |
Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg Area |
| Caroline Smith |
So. |
M |
Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty |
| Bethany |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Janez Matthews |
Sr. |
D |
Annapolis, Md./Annapolis |
| Tatum Severe |
Jr. |
M |
Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Bradley |
| Emily Wenger (HM) |
Sr. |
D |
New Cumberland, Pa./Cedar Cliff |
| Chatham |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Becca Baker |
Sr. |
D |
Norristown, Pa./The Shipley School |
| Meghan Cuza-Berry |
Jr. |
G |
Gambrills, Md./Arundel |
| Sarah Holt |
Jr. |
M/D |
Export, Pa./Franklin Regional |
| Campbell Murphy |
Fr. |
M |
Saline, Mich./Saline |
| Marcella Valentine |
Fr. |
D |
Galena, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales |
| Geneva |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Madi DeRuiter |
So. |
D/M |
Zeeland, Mich./Zion Christian |
| Julianna Easley |
Jr. |
A |
Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills |
| Mara Fowlow |
Jr. |
M |
Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk |
| Taylor Robinson |
So. |
M |
Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove |
| Grove City |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Taylor Blythe (1) |
Jr. |
A |
Mendon, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima |
| Reese Hasley |
Sr. |
D |
Cheswick, Pa./Deer Lakes |
| Jess Robinette (HM) |
Jr. |
M |
Mohnton, Pa./Twin Valley |
| Gwen Shilling (2) |
Jr. |
A |
Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional |
| Tori Stevenson |
Jr. |
M |
Butler, Pa./Butler |
| Hiram |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Jane Clark |
Sr. |
M |
Akron, Ohio/St. Vincent St. Mary |
| Megan Dayton |
Fr. |
M |
Stow, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls |
| Riley France |
Sr. |
A |
Powell, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne |
| Madigan Nolan |
Sr. |
D |
Champion, Ohio/Champion |
| Janelle Steiner |
Fr. |
M |
Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights |
| Saint Vincent |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Chloe Herring |
Grad. |
D |
Hanover, Pa./New Oxford |
| Mary Katherine New |
Fr. |
M |
Bowie, Md./Bowie |
| Cassidy Rega |
Jr. |
G |
Finleyville, Pa./Seton-LaSalle |
| Carolina Walters (HM) |
Sr. |
A |
Latrobe, Pa./Homeschooled |
| Thiel |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Shayla Foster |
Sr. |
D |
East Liverpool, Ohio/East Liverpool |
| Aidrianna Green |
Sr. |
M |
East Liverpool, Ohio/East Liverpool |
| Makayla Hall |
Sr. |
A |
Atlantic, Pa./Conneaut Area |
| Hayden Wightman |
Sr. |
A |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler |
| W&J |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Caleigh Bogats (2) |
Sr. |
M |
Oakdale, Pa./Chartiers Valley |
| Mya Bolinda (1) |
Sr. |
M |
Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills |
| Sammy Hartz (2) |
Jr. |
D |
Ijamsville, Md./Oakdale |
| Anna Kloehn |
Sr. |
A |
Canton, Ohio/Jackson |
| Brynne Stewart (2) |
Sr. |
A |
Painesville, Ohio/Andrews Osborne |
| Westminster |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Allyssa Anstis |
So. |
M |
Coraopolis, Pa./Moon |
| Isabella Cespedes (2) |
Sr. |
D |
Merrick, N.Y./Sanford H. Calhoun |
| Julia Ravazza (1) |
Sr. |
A |
Twain Harte, Calif./Dublin |
| Felicia Young (HM) |
Grad. |
M |
Darlington, Pa./Blackhawk |