LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team enters the 2026 season as the three-time defending Centennial Conference Champions and winners of four of the last five conference titles. The Diplomats will begin this spring as the No. 6 team in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) national poll.

The Diplomats went 18-3 last season with a perfect Centennial Conference record as they hosted the first two weekends of the NCAA Tournament before falling in the Sweet 16 by a single goal. Multiple time All-Americans Lauren Pittman and Belle Dintino highlight a team that returns four all-region players from last season, with Sara DiGiovanni and Devyn Crone additionally earned those accolades in 2025.

Franklin & Marshall is one of three Centennial Conference teams in the preseason poll as the Diplomats are joined by Gettysburg (No. 4) and Haverford (No. 18). F&M has certainly challenged itself in the non-conference part of the schedule as each of those contests will be played against squads that are also among the preseason nationally ranked teams, including a showdown with preseason No. 1 Middlebury on Sunday, March 15.

Women's lacrosse opens its 2026 season on Sunday, February 16 when the team travels to Virginia to take on No. 9 Washington and Lee.