Men’s lax is headed to its third straight national championship game, looking for a three-peat, and women’s lax heads to the NCAA Final Four
Midfielder Garrett Kelly, A26, in the match against Wesleyan; attacker Sophia Claps in the match against Williams College. Photos: (left) Courtesy of Bowdoin College; (right) Michael Last
This weekend, the national-powerhouse Jumbo lacrosse teams once again advanced in the NCAAs.
With a big win over Wesleyan, the men’s lacrosse team is now headed to the national championship and a shot at its third straight NCAA crown on May 24 in Charlottesville, Virginia, when the Jumbos take on the Rochester Institute of Technology for the title.
At the same time, the women’s lacrosse team moved on to its fifth NCAA Final Four appearance since 2019 with a 16-10 victory over Williams College, and faces Middlebury College on May 22.
Men’s Lacrosse Powers Ahead
For the second straight game in the tournament, the men’s lacrosse team came out firing on all cylinders, scoring 11 first-quarter goals and cruising to a 23-7 win over Wesleyan on May 17. The win marked the 14th straight NCAA tournament victory for the Jumbos (21-1).
The Jumbos used the same script as the day before against York College in a 22-9 win, racing to an 11-3 lead over Wesleyan after the first 15 minutes. Seniors Brooks Hauser and Jack Regnery each had three goals in the first quarter, while senior defender Cole Friedlander’s recent goal binge continued with another to help the Jumbos take the big early lead.
Regnery finished with seven goals and two assists, scoring on all seven shots he put on goal. He now has 71 goals and 46 assists on the season, while Hauser also has 71 goals and 29 assists for 100 points after scoring five times and dishing out two helpers.
The Jumbos look to become the first team since Salisbury in 2003-2005 to win three straight titles. The feat has happened only three times in NCAA Division III lacrosse championship history.
The championship game will be played at Scott Stadium on the campus of the University of Virginia, and will be the ninth NCAA title game appearance for the Jumbos. Tufts and RIT met previously in the national championship game in 2024, when the Jumbos defeated the Tigers 18-14.
Women’s Lax to Final Four
The No. 4 Tufts women’s lacrosse team (17-3) fended off a late rally from No. 20 Williams College on May 17 in the 2026 NCAA Division III women’s lacrosse quarterfinals, netting the final four goals of the game, which was played on Bello Field.
The Jumbos and Ephs played a competitive first quarter as the Jumbos pulled ahead 3-2 early on and led 9-6 at halftime. Tufts came out fast in the second half with back-to-back goals from Elsa Schutt and Eleanor Helm.
Helm had a monster game for the Jumbos as the first-year went for a career-high 11 points with five goals and six assists. The 11 points is the most in a game by a Jumbo player this season, tying a school record that was last matched in 2010.
Tufts outshot Williams 35-21, including a big 25-12 edge in shots on goal. The Jumbos won the ground ball battle 20-15, along with a slight 15-13 edge in draw controls.
This year marks the second straight season Tufts has made the NCAA semifinals, as Tufts reached this point in 2025, 2022, 2021, and 2019. In each of the last three trips, Tufts has ended up playing in the NCAA title game.
The semifinals will be played at RIT’s Judson Stadium; Wesleyan University and Salisbury University will compete in the other semifinal.
In Sailing News
The coed sailing team has its sights set on another top 10 national performance when the 2026 Fleet Race Nationals start on May 19 in St. Petersburg, Florida. A total of 36 teams from across the country will race on Tampa Bay in the national championship regatta.
The group is first split into two 18-team fleets for the Eastern and Western semifinals. Over two days of competition (May 19-20), teams will compete for one of the top nine places in each semifinal. The top teams move on to the finals (May 21-22).
A strong performance by the B division squad of first-year skipper Maddie Janzen and senior crew Lilly Ladd led the women’s sailing team into eighth place on the first day of the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) Women’s Fleet Race championship finals on May 17. The second and final day of the finals are slated for May 18.
