INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Johns Hopkins and Franklin & Marshall will represent the Centennial Conference in the upcoming NCAA Division III Field Hockey Tournament. The Blue Jays secured the CC's automatic bid with a 2-1 victory over F&M on Saturday, while the Diplomats received an at-large bid to the 24-team field.
Sixteen teams will compete in eight first-round games on campus sites Wednesday, Nov. 13. The eight first-round winners, along with the eight teams that received a first-round bye, will compete at four campus sites during second/third-round play, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 16 and 17.
The winners of the four sites will advance to the semifinals and final, Saturday and Sunday, November 23 and 24, at Spooky Nook Sports Complex in Manheim, Pa. Semifinals will be played at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Eastern time, Saturday, November 23, with the championship game being played at 1 p.m. Eastern time, Sunday, Nov. 24.
Johns Hopkins was selected as one of just four schools to host the second & third rounds. Hopkins (17-2) is making its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and eighth overall. The Blue Jays advanced to the NCAA Semifinals last season for the first time in program history. Hopkins will host an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2008 and just the fourth time overall.
The Blue Jays, which earned a first-round bye, will take on the winner of Worcester State (18-4) and 11th-ranked Messiah (16-4) on Saturday, Nov. 16. Fourth-ranked Tufts (14-4) will take on the winner of Rochester (14-8) and Denison (16-3) in the other half of the Baltimore pod. The weekend features two teams that Hopkins faced in last year's NCAA Tournament – Messiah and Tufts. JHU beat host Messiah, 3-2, in and then fell to Tufts, 4-1, in the national semifinals.
F&M received one of just five Pool C at-large bids into the field. This marks the Diplomats' sixth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and eighth overall. F&M (16-3) will host Hartwick (13-6) in Wednesday's first round at Tylus Field in Lancaster.