LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For the ninth-straight week, defending national champion Virginia Wesleyan, Texas Lutheran and Texas-Tyler are the top three teams in the NFCA Division III Top 25 rankings.
The top-ranked (45-2) Marlins dropped their Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament opener, 5-1 to Guilford in eight innings on Friday, before reeling off six straight victories on Saturday and Sunday to claim their third-consecutive ODAC crown, and 11th title overall.
No. 2 Texas Lutheran and third-ranked Texas-Tyler, meanwhile, kept steaming ahead. The (37-1) Bulldogs won their 30th consecutive game, en route to a fifth-straight Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference title. Texas-Tyler (35-1) wrapped up the regular season with its 28th consecutive win to complete a three-game American Southwest Conference sweep of LeTourneau.
Idle Berry (36-4) and ODAC tournament participant Randolph-Macon (38-5) switched places this week to round out the top five, while St. John Fisher (27-7), St. Thomas (32-6), Christopher Newport (33-7), Linfield (35-8), Saint Mary’s (33-3) and Moravian (29-5) completed a consensus first 11 in the poll.
Elsewhere, No. 16 Calvin and No. 21 Otterbein went from receiving votes to spots in the Top 25, and previously-unranked Lake Forest and Ithaca returned this week in the 20th and 24th positions, respectively.
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 – May 2, 2018
|
Rank |
Team |
2018 Record |
Points |
Previous |
|
1 |
Virginia Wesleyan (8) |
45-2 |
200 |
1 |
|
2 |
Texas Lutheran |
37-1 |
192 |
2 |
|
3 |
Texas-Tyler |
35-1 |
184 |
3 |
|
4 |
Berry |
36-4 |
176 |
5 |
|
5 |
Randolph-Macon |
38-5 |
168 |
4 |
|
6 |
St. John Fisher |
27-7 |
160 |
9 |
|
7 |
St. Thomas (Minn.) |
32-6 |
152 |
7 |
|
8 |
Christopher Newport |
33-7 |
144 |
8 |
|
9 |
Linfield |
35-8 |
136 |
T10 |
|
10 |
Saint Mary’s (Ind.) |
33-3 |
128 |
T10 |
|
11 |
Moravian |
29-5 |
120 |
6 |
|
12 |
George Fox |
35-9 |
102 |
15 |
|
13 |
Saint Benedict |
32-6 |
96 |
20 |
|
14 |
East Texas Baptist |
31-9 |
85 |
13 |
|
15 |
Tufts |
28-7 |
83 |
21 |
|
16 |
Calvin |
29-6 |
81 |
RV |
|
17 |
Central (Iowa) |
27-9 |
68 |
T16 |
|
18 |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
29-6-1 |
55 |
19 |
|
19 |
College of New Jersey |
29-6 |
53 |
25 |
|
20 |
Lake Forest |
29-9 |
34 |
NR |
|
21 |
Otterbein |
30-8 |
32 |
RV |
|
22 |
Williams |
32-6 |
27 |
24 |
|
23 |
Rowan |
28-10-1 |
24 |
18 |
|
24 |
Ithaca |
25-8 |
23 |
NR |
|
25 |
Amherst |
26-5 |
22 |
12 |
Others receiving votes: Luther 14, Coe 12, Hope 10, Emory 7, Emory & Henry 6, Illinois Wesleyan 3, and Lynchburg 3.
Dropped out: Geneseo, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Trine.
