By Katie Green, Manager of Athletic Communications and Media

Kansas City, Mo. – (Bracket | Schedule) The 2018 NAIA Women’s Lacrosse National Invitational will take place on May 9 - 12. The event will take place in Grand Rapids, Michigan, at Aquinas College (Mich.).

This year’s invitational field will include four automatic qualifiers and four at-large bids. Automatic berths were given to the conference group tournament champions. The at-large bids were determined by the final Coaches’ Top 10 Poll.  

The invitational will take place on May 9 – 12. The invitational will begin with four quarterfinal contests on the 9th and the winners will advance to the semifinals on the 11th and then to the championship on the 12th.

The NAIA Network – the association’s official video streaming home – will broadcast all games at the 2018 NAIA Men’s Lacrosse National Invitational. The video platform, powered by Stretch Internet, allows users access to live video, statistics, and social interaction on a number of devices, including mobile. Single-day passes can be purchased for $9.95, while an all-tournament package is available for $14.95. For more information on streaming CLICK HERE

Invitational Highlights

• Women’s lacrosse is in its third year as an invitational sport in the NAIA.
• There are five institutions that will have a team competing in both the men’s and women’s invitational events.
• SCAD Savannah (Ga.), Lawrence Tech (Mich.), Indiana Tech and Georgetown (Ky.) will make their third appearance in the National Invitational.
• Benedictine (Kan.) will make its second appearance in the National Invitational.
• Cumberlands (Ky.), Keiser (Fla.) and Siena Heights (Mich.) are each making their first appearance in a National Invitational.
• Four teams that are competing in 2018 also competed in the 2017 National Invitational: SCAD Savannah, Lawrence Tech, Indiana Tech and Georgetown.
• The four teams that competed in the invitational in 2017 and Benedictine all competed in the 2016 invitational.
• There is only one title winner in this year’s field, SCAD Savannah. The Bees won their first invitational title in 2017.