First trip to postseason since 2008
The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse is headed to the Division III NCAA tournament.
The Eagles (20-9) were awarded an at-large bid to the tournament Monday. At 2 p.m. Thursday, UW-L opens regional play with 14th-ranked Carthage (31-7) in Grand Rapids, Mich.
It’s a bit of a surprise for the unranked Eagles, who lost 3-1 to 11th-ranked UW-Whitewater in its first match of the WIAC tournament, after earning a first-round bye and the No. 2 seed.
But, instead of giving up, because losing that game meant no WIAC tournament championship, which meant no automatic bid, which probably meant no NCAA tournament, UW-L played on.
And things looked even more bleak in the WIAC third-place match with top-seeded UW-Oshkosh (26-9), but that also turned out to be exactly what the Eagles needed to earn an at-large bid.
Though there was seemingly the 18th-ranked Titans, who had swept UW-L a month ago, the Eagles persevered with a 3-1 victory, which ultimately earned them a spot in the postseason. Had UW-L not played Oshkosh in that third-place game, it likely would not have earned an at-large bit.
“I thought our chances were low since we haven’t been regionally or nationally ranked all season,” UW-L coach Lily Hallock said. “Our winning record against regionally and nationally ranked teams must have impressed the committee.”
Twenty teams are given an at-large bid for the 64-team tourney. This is the 13th appearance by UW-L in the postseason – first since 2008.