LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Saint Mary’s (Ind.) surged 18 places this week to No. 7 in the NFCA Division III Top 25 rankings, which continues to be led by the trio of undefeated defending national champion Virginia Wesleyan, No. 2 Texas Lutheran and No 3 Texas-Tyler.

The (28-2) Belles matched their school record for wins in a season with Friday’s sweep of then-No. 8 Trine, and also swept then-No. 20 Calvin last Monday in a 6-0 week. Saint Mary’s has now won 13 straight games, and 19 of their last 20, after completing its third-consecutive unbeaten week.

Meanwhile, it was business as usual for the top three teams in the poll. Virginia Wesleyan (34-0) won six more games to extend its win streak to 40 straight, dating to last May’s NCAA Championship in Oklahoma City, while Texas Lutheran (31-1) swept four from Southwestern, and Texas-Tyler (29-1) took three from Texas-Dallas. They have been the undisputed top trio in the rankings for the past seven weeks, and the Marlins have been the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation for the past 16 weeks.

No. 4 Randolph-Macon (30-2), No. 5 Berry (33-4) and No. 6 Moravian (21-3) all kept winning to improve their standing inside the top 10, while No. 9 Luther (24-2) had its 17-game win streak snapped and No. 10 East Texas Baptist (27-7) rejoined that group with a 3-0 week.

No. 8 St. Thomas (21-5) and No. 16 Saint Benedict (17-5) had the second-biggest jumps this week, gaining six places apiece after 6-0 and 4-0 weeks, respectively. Conversely, No. 11 Christopher Newport (24-6) fell seven places after a 3-3 week, which included Virginia Wesleyan snapping the Captains’ 12-game win streak, and No. 19 Williams (21-6), dropped six spots after a 3-2 week. 

No. 22 North Central and No. 25 William Paterson received enough votes this week to join the first 25, while College of New Jersey, Lake Forest, Ohio Northern, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Wisconsin-River Falls are the new additions to the list.

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 – April 18, 2018

Others receiving votes: Ohio Northern 11, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 6, Wisconsin-River Falls 4, College of New Jersey 1, Geneseo 1 and Lake Forest 1.

Dropped out: Babson, Buena Vista, Calvin, Kean, Pomona-Pitzer, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.