Virginia Wesleyan still atop ever-tightening NFCA Division III Top 25
May 6, 2019 | News | No Comments
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It’s becoming tougher to separate the top teams in the NFCA Division III Top 25, but there’s no change at the top, with two-time defending national champion Virginia Wesleyan University at No. 1 for a third-straight week and the 28th time in the last 29 weeks.
The (34-3) Marlins have now won 15 of their last 16. They went 3-1 last week, including a run-rule sweep of Shenandoah and a split with Ferrum. Two-time reigning Schutt Sports/NFCA Division III National Player of the Year Hanna Hull fanned 15 Ferrum batters while tossing a no-hitter in Virginia Wesleyan’s 5-0 victory on Saturday.
St. Thomas (33-5) and Williams (26-4) both went unbeaten last week to rank ahead of East Texas Baptist (33-4), which slipped two spots to fourth after dropping two of three to longtime American Southwest Conference rival Texas-Tyler, who is moving to Division II next season.
Nine teams are tied for four spots in the Top 25. Illinois Wesleyan (27-6) and Trine (26-4) are deadlocked at No. 6; Luther (28-5) and Texas Lutheran (27-7) occupy the No. 13 position; Kean (32-5), Manhattanville (33-2) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (22-7-1) share 16th; and Brandeis (27-2-1) and Lynchburg (30-10) are 20th.
Meanwhile, a patented late-season surge helped DePauw (22-10) break into the rankings this week at No. 25. The Tigers improved their record to 14-2 in April with their fifth straight victory in Monday’s sweep at Wittenberg.
The NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll is selected by eight NCAA Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions. Current 2019 records are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses.
NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll – April 24, 2019
Rank
Team
2019 Record
Points
Previous
1
Virginia Wesleyan (8)
34-3
200
1
2
St. Thomas (Minn.)
33-5
192
4
3
Williams
26-4
184
3
4
East Texas Baptist
33-4
176
2
5
Linfield
32-5-1
168
8
T6
Illinois Wesleyan
27-6
149
6
T6
Trine
26-4
149
10
8
Birmingham-Southern
31-5
132
12
9
Christopher Newport
28-6
130
5
10
Ithaca
22-6-1
126
14
11
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
30-7
125
7
12
Moravian
29-5
105
11
T13
Luther
28-5
102
T16
T13
Texas Lutheran
27-7
102
15
15
The College of New Jersey
26-6
74
T16
T16
Kean
32-5
67
19
T16
Manhattanville
33-2
67
18
T16
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
22-7-1
67
13
19
Coe
30-7
65
9
T20
Brandeis
27-2-1
48
20
T20
Lynchburg
30-10
48
22
22
Southwestern
33-4
40
23
23
Rowan
24-10
20
24
24
Thomas More
27-9
18
25
25
DePauw
22-10
12
NR
Others receiving votes: Piedmont 7, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 6, Wisconsin-Eau Claire 6, Mount Saint Joseph 5, Geneseo 4, St. Catherine 3, Wisconsin-Whitewater 2, and Endicott 1.
Dropped out: Millikin, New Paltz, Pomona-Pitzer, Wartburg and Whitworth.
* NOTE: Texas-Tyler is reclassifying to NCAA Division II, and Pfeiffer continues the process of going from Division II to Division III. Neither is eligible for the NCAA Division III Championship.
