LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Surging Randolph-Macon jumped into a mostly unchanged top 10 this week, climbing seven spots to No. 5 in the NFCA Division III Top 25 rankings.
The (17-1) Yellow Jackets went 6-0 over the past week, with two wins apiece over Emory, Gettysburg and Norwich. Three of the six games ended early due to run rule, and the two games against Emory both went eight innings.
Undefeated defending national champion Virginia Wesleyan continues to lead the way in the top spot, sweeping Emory at home and taking two on the road from Salisbury, while Texas Lutheran (19-1), Texas-Tyler (14-1) and Williams (4-0) round out the first five.
Texas Lutheran started a 12-game homestand with four twinbill sweeps, Texas-Tyler kept rolling with a three-game conference sweep of Concordia, and Williams opened its season in Florida with four straight victories.
Case Western Reserve (11-1) is the newcomer this week, debuting at No. 22, while Rowan (13-3) returns at No. 18 after not receiving votes last week. Emory (7-7), which was tied for 23rd a week ago, but went 1-5 in six games against ranked opponents in just a three-day span, was one of five teams to drop out.
The NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll is selected by eight NCAA Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions. Current 2018 records are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses.
NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll – March 21, 2018
Rank |
Team |
2018 Record |
Points |
Previous |
1 |
Virginia Wesleyan (8) |
18-0 |
200 |
1 |
2 |
Texas Lutheran |
19-1 |
192 |
2 |
3 |
Texas-Tyler |
14-1 |
184 |
3 |
4 |
Williams |
4-0 |
176 |
4 |
5 |
Randolph-Macon |
17-1 |
168 |
12 |
6 |
Berry |
20-3 |
160 |
8 |
7 |
Trine |
13-3 |
152 |
5 |
8 |
Christopher Newport |
11-3 |
144 |
6 |
9 |
Luther |
8-1 |
136 |
9 |
10 |
Wisconsin-Whitewater |
0-0 |
128 |
10 |
11 |
St. John Fisher |
7-5 |
120 |
11 |
12 |
East Texas Baptist |
17-3 |
98 |
13 |
13 |
Babson |
7-4 |
90 |
14 |
14 |
Illinois Wesleyan |
5-3 |
80 |
16 |
15 |
Amherst |
9-1 |
78 |
7 |
T16 |
Central (Iowa) |
12-4 |
74 |
T17 |
Moravian |
11-3 |
74 |
22 |
|
18 |
Rowan |
13-3 |
73 |
NR |
19 |
George Fox |
17-5 |
54 |
20 |
T20 |
Kean |
11-1 |
42 |
T17 |
Saint Benedict |
13-3 |
42 |
T23 |
|
22 |
Case Western Reserve |
11-1 |
27 |
NR |
23 |
Ithaca |
7-3 |
24 |
19 |
24 |
St. Thomas (Minn.) |
3-3 |
23 |
21 |
25 |
Wisconsin-Oshkosh |
11-4 |
15 |
25 |
Others receiving votes: Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 12, Linfield 10, Ramapo 7, Buena Vista 6 and Emory & Henry 4.
Dropped out: Alma, Emory, La Verne, Lynchburg and Washington (Mo.).