Virginia Wesleyan remains No. 1 in NFCA Division III Top 25
May 9, 2019 | News | No Comments
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two-time defending national champion Virginia Wesleyan University claimed its fourth-straight Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) title and scored a fourth consecutive week at No. 1 in the NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll.
The (40-4) Marlins have now won five straight heading into NCAA play after dropping their second game of the ODAC tournament, 3-2, to Randolph-Macon (26-14), which just missed making the Top 25 after receiving votes for the first time since April 3. Virginia Wesleyan defeated the Yellow Jackets twice to win their 12th conference championship overall.
Randolph-Macon now has five ranked victories this season, including beating the top-ranked Marlins twice. They also defeated Christopher Newport (31-6) when the Captains were the No. 1 team earlier this season.
Meanwhile, Williams (31-4) continued its surge up the rankings, moving up another spot this week to second. The Ephs swept two from Smith and three from Wesleyan (Conn.) to run their win streak to 20. East Texas Baptist (36-4) moved up one place as well, following a three-game sweep of McMurry, to also jump ahead of St. Thomas (35-5), which is now fourth.
Linfield (35-6-1), Illinois Wesleyan (29-6), Trine (30-4), Birmingham-Southern (34-5), Christopher Newport and Moravian (31-5) round out an unanimous first 10 for the committee this week.
Elsewhere, familiar face Central (24-8) jumped back into the mix at No. 22 this week, while poll regulars Randolph-Macon and Muskingum (31-9) are back receiving votes.
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 – May 1, 2019
Rank
Team
2019 Record
Points
Previous
1
Virginia Wesleyan (8)
40-4
200
1
2
Williams
31-4
192
3
3
East Texas Baptist
36-4
184
4
4
St. Thomas (Minn.)
35-5
176
2
5
Linfield
35-6-1
168
5
6
Illinois Wesleyan
29-6
160
T6
7
Trine
30-4
152
T6
8
Birmingham-Southern
34-5
144
8
9
Christopher Newport
31-6
136
9
10
Moravian
31-5
128
12
11
Texas Lutheran
30-7
114
T13
12
The College of New Jersey
31-6
110
15
13
Kean
35-5
87
T16
14
Ithaca
23-7-1
85
10
15
Manhattanville
37-2
82
T16
16
Thomas More
29-9
65
24
17
Rowan
29-10
61
23
18
DePauw
28-12
47
25
19
Coe
31-8
45
19
20
Geneseo
30-8
37
RV
21
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
25-8-1
36
T16
22
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Central (Iowa)
24-8
31
NR
23
Wisconsin-Whitewater
26-10
23
RV
T24
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
30-9
20
11
T24
Southwestern
35-6
20
22
Others receiving votes: Randolph-Macon 19, Emory 18, Endicott 16, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 9, Muskingum 8, Mount Saint Joseph 7, and Wisconsin-Eau Claire 5.
Dropped out: Brandeis, Luther, Lynchburg, Piedmont, and St. Catherine.
* 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.
