GAMBIER, Ohio -- With just 16 teams remaining in the 2023 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament, Kenyon College has the privilege of hosting three of those teams for the third- and quarterfinal-round games, which will be played Saturday and Sunday on The Field at Benson Bowl.

Saturday's third-round games will start with Denison University and Franklin & Marshall College squaring off at 1 p.m. Kenyon will then take on Pomona-Pitzer at 4 p.m. The third-round winners will reconvene Sunday at 2:30 p.m. to battle for a spot in the tournament semifinals.

Kenyon is in the midst of one of the best seasons in program history. The Owls, who are 18-1, set program records for win streak (17) and wins in a season (18). Entering the NCAA Tournament, the Owls earned a rank of No. 21 in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association's (IWLCA) national Division III poll. 

The Owls only loss of the season occurred in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament final against Denison. To gain entry into the NCAA Tournament, Kenyon was awarded one of 13 at-large bids in the field of 46 teams. The Owls' appearance in the third round was made possible by an 18-9 win over DePauw University in second-round play.

Kenyon's opponent, Pomona-Pitzer, will make the long trip carrying with it a 20-1 record and a 14-game win streak. The Sagehens are ranked at No. 17 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine national poll and at No. 18 in the IWLCA poll. They punched their ticket to the dance by taking the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's automatic bid with a 13-12 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the conference's tournament finale. Once in, Pomona-Pitzer, like Kenyon, earned a first-round bye. In the second round, the Sagehens put together a convincing 24-7 win against George Fox University.

In Saturday's other game, Denison, winners of the NCAC Tournament, claimed its spot with the conference's automatic bid. The Big Red then went to Chicago for a first-round game and defeated Hope College 18-10. The next day, the Big Red surprised host and No. 17-ranked University of Chicago, 10-9, in three overtimes. Earlier in the season, Chicago handed Denison a 20-9 loss on the Big Red's home turf.

Denison, unranked in either national poll, possesses an 11-10 record with six of those losses against nationally-ranked teams.

Franklin & Marshall will arrive on Kenyon's campus as the highest-ranked team in the four-team pod. The Diplomats sit at No. 8 in both the IWLCA poll and the USA Lacrosse Magazine pool. They own a 16-4 mark with all four losses coming against top-10 teams, including Gettysburg College, the team Franklin & Marshall then beat 15-14 to win the Centennial Conference Championship Tournament and gain automatic entry into the NCAA Tournament.

The Diplomats hosted first and second-round NCAA games. After skating through the first round with a bye, they delivered a 16-14 win against No. 16-ranked Roanoke College in their second-round contest.

Throughout the weekend, ticket prices for one tournament game will be $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and students, and $3 for children ages 3-12. Students carrying a valid Kenyon ID will be admitted free.