LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Salisbury and Virginia Wesleyan are the new unanimous choices behind clear-cut No. 1 Texas-Tyler this week in the NFCA Division III Top 25 poll standings.
Capital Athletic Conference champion Salisbury (34-4) moved up three places to No. 2 after starting this year’s rankings in that spot, while Virginia Wesleyan (34-5) swept a doubleheader at Roanoke to take another step forward to No. 3 after spending the last two weeks at a school-best fourth.
Top-ranked Texas-Tyler (37-2) completed a 29-0 run through the American Southwest Conference season with a three-game sweep at Sul Ross and opens play in the ASC Tournament later today at its own Suddenlink Field. The Patriots have been No. 1 in the Top 25 all 10 weeks this season.
No. 4 Texas Lutheran (41-3) dropped only its third game of the season, which was also its first-ever loss in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, 4-3 in 10 innings to Trinity, but then won three straight — including two victories over Trinity — to rebound for its third consecutive league crown.
Berry (36-6) made the biggest jump of the week — five spots — to tie the Bulldogs in fourth. The Vikings beat new No. 7 Birmingham-Southern (36-8) twice over the weekend to win its second straight Southern Athletic Association tournament championship.
Luther (32-2) suffered just its second loss of the season in the first game of a lopsided conference split with Wartburg to fall from second to sixth, while Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (28-7-1) also lost to drop one position to eighth. Emory (40-4) went 4-0 to close its regular season and move up to ninth, ahead of No. 10 Christopher Newport (34-7), which lost twice to Salisbury in the CAC Tournament.
Williams (26-8) moved into the No. 23 spot following a 4-1 week, while No. 25 Linfield (29-13) routed George Fox, 12-2, in the championship of the Northwest Conference Tournament to return to the rankings for the first time since March 23.
Three-time reigning NCAA champion Tufts (22-7) is also back on the committee’s radar — in the receiving votes category — after winning 15 of its last 16, including its last six.
The NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll is selected by Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions. Records through Sunday’s games are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses.
NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll – April 27, 2016
|
Rank |
Team |
2016 Record |
Points |
Previous |
|
1 |
Texas-Tyler (8) |
37-2 |
200 |
1 |
|
2 |
Salisbury |
34-4 |
192 |
5 |
|
3 |
Virginia Wesleyan |
34-5 |
184 |
4 |
|
T4 |
Berry |
36-6 |
168 |
9 |
|
Texas Lutheran |
41-3 |
168 |
3 |
|
|
6 |
Luther |
32-2 |
166 |
2 |
|
7 |
Birmingham-Southern |
36-8 |
142 |
6 |
|
8 |
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps |
28-7-1 |
130 |
7 |
|
9 |
Emory |
40-4 |
127 |
10 |
|
10 |
Christopher Newport |
34-7 |
125 |
8 |
|
11 |
Alma |
26-6 |
122 |
12 |
|
12 |
Illinois Wesleyan |
26-6 |
115 |
11 |
|
13 |
Messiah |
32-3 |
106 |
16 |
|
14 |
Rowan |
29-7 |
101 |
15 |
|
15 |
St. Catherine |
25-4 |
90 |
17 |
|
16 |
St. Thomas (Minn.) |
29-5 |
80 |
13 |
|
17 |
East Texas Baptist |
31-8 |
71 |
14 |
|
18 |
Moravian |
29-3 |
59 |
19 |
|
19 |
Ithaca |
27-7 |
44 |
23 |
|
20 |
Otterbein |
28-4-2 |
37 |
21 |
|
21 |
Manhattanville |
32-2 |
35 |
22 |
|
22 |
St. John Fisher |
30-6 |
30 |
24 |
|
23 |
Williams |
26-8 |
27 |
RV |
|
24 |
Washington (Mo.) |
32-10 |
19 |
18 |
|
25 |
Linfield |
29-13 |
18 |
NR |
Others receiving votes: Wheaton (Ill.) 16, Whitworth 7, Wis.-Oshkosh 5, Tufts 4, Worcester Polytechnic Institute 2.
Dropped out: Cortland, Wittenberg.
