Virginia Wesleyan reclaims top spot in NFCA Division III Top 25
May 7, 2019 | News | No Comments
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two-time defending national champion Virginia Wesleyan University reclaimed the top spot in the NFCA Division III Top 25 this week after spending two weeks at No. 2.
The (29-2) Marlins went 4-0 last week, and then swept Eastern Mennonite on Tuesday, to move back into the No. 1 position they had held for 25 straight weeks — a total of 720 days — before a doubleheader split with Christopher Newport on March 24 dropped them to second place behind the (23-3) Captains.
East Texas Baptist (30-1), meanwhile, also went 4-0 last week to extend its win streak to 10 and vault into the No. 2 spot, ahead of Christopher Newport, who won five games, but split with the same Randolph-Macon team that had already defeated Virginia Wesleyan and fellow ranked squad Rowan earlier this season.
Poll newcomers Birmingham-Southern (won 13 straight), Brandeis (no losses, one tie), Baldwin Wallace (won six straight) and Southwestern (won 16 straight) all moved into the Top 25 after continuing their strong play, while Piedmont, Saint Benedict and Tufts tumbled out.
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 10, 2019
Rank
Team
2019 Record
Points
Previous
1
Virginia Wesleyan (8)
29-2
200
2
2
East Texas Baptist
30-1
192
3
3
Christopher Newport
23-3
184
1
4
Illinois Wesleyan
17-4
176
4
5
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
24-5
168
9
6
Linfield
25-4-1
160
10
7
Williams
19-4
152
12
8
Coe
27-4
144
7
9
Trine
19-3
136
11
10
Moravian
23-3
128
T14
11
St. Thomas (Minn.)
22-4
98
6
12
Rowan
18-6
95
T14
13
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
15-5
92
16
14
Ithaca
15-5-1
88
13
15
Texas Lutheran
21-7
78
5
16
Manhattanville
22-1
76
17
17
Luther
24-3
67
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24
18
Birmingham-Southern
26-5
65
NR
19
Lynchburg
26-8
58
8
20
The College of New Jersey
19-5
55
RV
21
Brandeis
15-0-1
38
NR
22
Wisconsin-Eau Claire
14-3-1
36
23
23
Kean
22-5
24
18
24
Baldwin Wallace
25-3
23
NR
25
Southwestern
27-4
14
NR
Others receiving votes: Emory 13, Muskingum 11, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 10 and Geneseo 4.
Dropped out: Piedmont, Saint Benedict (Minn.) and Tufts.
* 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.
