How We Got Here
Manhattanville returns to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years after missing out on the dance a season ago with a loss in the Skyline Conference Championship Finals. The Valiants avenged that loss by running the table against the Skyline this season, going 18-0 in the regular season before tacking on three more wins in the Conference Championship Tournament, defeating Old Westbury in the opening contest of the double elimination bracket before besting Farmingdale twice, capped off by a 9-6 victory against the Rams on Sunday to capture the 14^th conference title in the team's history.

The Valiant roster features 10 All-Conference selections and is headed by Head Coach Dale Martin who added an 11^th Conference Coach of the Year award to his mantle this year. Junior Alexa Lazur (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon) has enjoyed a tremendous coming out party this year, earning Skyline Player of the Year nods, an All-Conference First Team selection and Skyline Conference Championship Most Outstanding Player honors. Lazur carries a .439 batting average and a 1.245 OPS into the NCAA Tournament, belting three home runs in the Skyline Conference Championship Tournament.

Manhattanville's pitching staff has posted a 2.12 team ERA this year, fronted by Skyline First Team selection Jori Wilkendorf (Livermore, Calif./Livermore) and Second Team appointee Tahlia Smith (St. Helena, Calif./St. Helena). The two have combined for 32 wins in the circle this year. Junior Wilkendorf holds a 1.82 ERA on the year across 146.1 innings and has gone the distance 15 times with eight shutouts and a pair of no-hitters. Rookie Smith, meanwhile, has erupted onto the scene with a 2.62 ERA over her 93.2 innings of work, striking out 95.

Joining Lazur and Wilkendorf on the Skyline First Team were outfielders Isabella Tansey (San Diego, Calif./University City) and Emma Foster (Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos) with second baseman Breanna Ochoa (South Gate, Calif./Saint Joseph), while Smith was honored alongside designated player Josie O'Leary (Pawling, N.Y./Pawling), outfielder Cady Sickler (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston), shortstop Samantha Reyer (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) and catcher Angelina Cruz (Oceanside, Calif./Rancho Buena Vista) on the Second Team. All have been key contributors to a Valiant squad that ended the season receiving votes for the last three weeks in the NFCA Coaches Poll.

Manhattanville matches up against the Falcons of Pfeiffer University on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. for the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Pfeiffer captured the USA South conference championship for a fourth-consecutive season and comes into the NCAA Tournament winners of 24 of their last 25. The Falcons are 38-9 on the season and bounced back from an 8-1 loss to Greensboro in the conference tournament to win three straight games to make it out of the elimination bracket, culminating with back-to-back wins over Greensboro to capture the title on Sunday. Pfeiffer has no shortage of decorated athletes of their own, highlighted by USA South Player of the Year Landry Stewart who hit .503 on the year with 62 runs, 82 steals and 83 hits. Pfeiffer's rotation is fronted by rookie Abigail Bowman, with the freshman posting a 1.86 ERA and a 19-5 record across 143.1 innings as she was named the conference's Rookie Pitcher of the Year.

Hosts Virginia Wesleyan enter the NCAA Tournament as the last undefeated team remaining in the country, going 45-0 entering the regional. The Marlins are the top seed in the dance for the fifth time in school history and are looking to avenge last year's loss in the NCAA Championship Finals. Virginia Wesleyan is as loaded as a roster comes, hitting .412 as a collective while posting a 0.63 ERA as a team. The Marlins won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference thanks to phenomenal seasons by ODAC Player of the Year Morgan Tucker (.517 avg., 74 RBI, 56 runs, .974 SLG %), ODAC Pitcher of the Year Hannah Hearl (22-0, 0.57 ERA, 163 strikeouts) and seven other All-Conference First Team selections.

The Marlins take on John Jay, the CUNYAC champions who joined Manhattanville in the trip to Virginia from New York. The Bloodhounds captured their fourth-straight conference title over the weekend and have won nine straight entering Thursday. John Jay was fronted by back-to-back CUNYAC Pitcher of the Year Lindsay Ogden who went 12-10 with a 3.91 ERA on the year with 136 strikeouts. The Bloodhounds had three other players—infielders Kendal Bryant and Natalie Graham and outfielder Kelly Fajardo—earn All-Conference honors.

History
Manhattanville is 0-3 all-time against Virginia Wesleyan, with the last meeting coming back in 2017. Despite being the third time the Valiants have been placed in the Virginia Beach regional, Manhattanville and Virginia Wesleyan have never met in the tournament. John Jay, meanwhile, is a familiar dance partner for the Valiants, having met 32 times. The Bloodhounds earned a 7-5 extra inning win over Manhattanville back in April, snapping the Valiants' 21-game winning streak against them. The two teams met in the Virginia Beach regional in 2023, a 3-2 walk-off win for the Valiants.

Team Leaders
Manhattanville