LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Texas Lutheran finished the season as the unanimous No. 1 in the NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll after winning its first NCAA Division III national championship last week.
The (40-8) Bulldogs were undefeated in five games at the NCAA championship finals site in Tyler, Texas, and swept Emory 12-4 and 6-1 in the best-of-three championship series last Monday.
Emory (39-14), meanwhile, finished second in the rankings after finishing second nationally. The Eagles suffered their only two losses at the finals site on the final day to Texas Lutheran.
The six other NCAA championship finals teams all made the top eight, with third-place national finishers Eastern Connecticut State (36-13) and Trine (37-8) ranked third and fourth; fifth-place finishers Williams (39-7) and Illinois Wesleyan (39-10) at fifth and sixth; and seventh-place finishers St. Thomas (43-7) and Randolph-Macon (30-17) at seventh and eighth, respectively.
Linfield (39-8-1) and Lynchburg (37-15), who lost to the two national finalists in the NCAA super regionals, complete the top 10, followed by two-time national champion Virginia Wesleyan (42-6), which was upset by Lynchburg in the NCAA regionals.
The NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll is selected by eight NCAA Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions. Final 2019 records are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses.
NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll – June 3, 2019
|
Rank |
Team |
2019 Record |
Points |
Previous |
|
1 |
Texas Lutheran (8) |
40-8 |
200 |
8 |
|
2 |
Emory |
39-14 |
192 |
18 |
|
3 |
Eastern Connecticut State |
36-13 |
184 |
NR |
|
4 |
Trine |
37-8 |
176 |
19 |
|
5 |
Williams |
39-7 |
168 |
4 |
|
6 |
Illinois Wesleyan |
39-10 |
160 |
7 |
|
7 |
St. Thomas (Minn.) |
43-7 |
152 |
3 |
|
8 |
Randolph-Macon |
30-17 |
144 |
RV |
|
9 |
Linfield |
39-8-1 |
136 |
5 |
|
10 |
Lynchburg |
37-15 |
128 |
17 |
|
11 |
Virginia Wesleyan |
42-6 |
114 |
1 |
|
12 |
East Texas Baptist |
39-6 |
113 |
2 |
|
13 |
Rowan |
33-15 |
96 |
23 |
|
14 |
Birmingham-Southern |
35-7 |
90 |
6 |
|
15 |
Christopher Newport |
37-9 |
78 |
11 |
|
16 |
Ithaca |
28-9-1 |
62 |
10 |
|
17 |
Thomas More |
34-11 |
54 |
12 |
|
18 |
Geneseo |
37-13 |
52 |
RV |
|
19 |
Carthage |
30-16 |
49 |
NR |
|
20 |
The College of New Jersey |
33-8 |
47 |
9 |
|
21 |
Central (Iowa) |
27-10 |
39 |
15 |
|
22 |
Mary Hardin-Baylor |
28-16 |
34 |
22 |
|
23 |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
30-12-1 |
32 |
NR |
|
24 |
Tufts |
32-10 |
24 |
20 |
|
25 |
DePauw |
33-14 |
19 |
16 |
Others receiving votes: Wisconsin-La Crosse 16, Arcadia 12, Southwestern 12, Cortland 7, Manhattanville 5, Coe 3, and Lake Forest 2.
Dropped out: Calvin, Endicott, Kean, and Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
* NOTE: Texas-Tyler is reclassifying to NCAA Division II, and Pfeiffer continues the process of going from Division II to Division III. Neither were eligible for the NCAA Division III Championship.
