No change at top in NFCA Division III Top 25
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The top three in the NFCA Division III Top 25 have combined to win their last 14 games and remain unchanged this week, led by Christopher Newport University in the No. 1 spot.
The (18-2) Captains won two more games this past week, after ending two-time reigning national champion Virginia Wesleyan’s run of 25 straight weeks — a total of 720 days — at the top with a head-to-head split on March 24, which secured for them the No. 1 ranking for the first time in school history. Christopher Newport plays a doubleheader today at talented Randolph-Macon, which has two ranked victories this season.
Virginia Wesleyan (23-2) was the one of the Yellow Jackets’ victims two weeks ago, when the Marlins suffered both of their losses this season in a span of four days. The reigning champs quickly returned to form, going 4-0 last week.
East Texas Baptist (27-1), meanwhile, completed a conference sweep of University of the Ozarks on Monday to run its win streak to seven games, and Illinois Wesleyan (13-4) returned to the No. 4 spot, after spending last week at seventh.
Elsewhere, Trine (14-2) continued its climb up the rankings — six more places to No. 11 — after winning its 12th straight, and Moravian (19-3) surged 10 spots to a tie with Rowan (16-6) for 14th, after they extended their victory streaks to 14 and seven games, respectively.
Other teams rolling include No. 19 Rensselaer (16-2), which has won 14 consecutive games, while poll newcomers Birmingham-Southern (23-5) at No. 20 and Piedmont (22-5) at No 25 have each won their last 10. Luther (18-3) has won its last eight to jump back into the Top 25 at 24th.
The NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll is selected by eight NCAA Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions. Current 2019 records are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses.
NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll – April 3, 2019
Rank
Team
2019 Record
Points
Previous
1
Christopher Newport (8)
18-2
200
1
2
Virginia Wesleyan
23-2
192
2
3
East Texas Baptist
27-1
184
3
4
Illinois Wesleyan
13-4
176
7
5
Texas Lutheran
21-5
168
8
6
St. Thomas (Minn.)
14-2
160
4
7
Coe
24-3
152
11
8
Lynchburg
25-5
127
6
9
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
22-5
125
T13
10
Linfield
22-4-1
118
15
11
Trine
14-2
104
T17
12
Williams
15-4
102
16
13
Ithaca
10-4-1
101
10
T14
Moravian
19-3
72
24
T14
Rowan
16-6
72
NR
16
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
11-5
66
5
17
Manhattanville
18-1
65
12
18
Kean
22-3
62
9
19
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
16-2
59
20
20
Birmingham-Southern
23-5
57
NR
T21
Saint Benedict (Minn.)
14-5
49
21
T21
Tufts
17-3
49
23
23
Wisconsin-Eau Claire
11-3
43
22
24
Luther
18-3
38
RV
25
Piedmont
22-5
35
NR
Others receiving votes: The College of New Jersey 13 and Muskingum 11.
Dropped out: Berry, Calvin, Case Western Reserve, Geneseo, Hope, Millikin, North Central, Pacific, Randolph-Macon, Whitworth, Wisconsin-Stout and Wisconsin-Whitewater.
* NOTE: Texas-Tyler is reclassifying to NCAA Division II, and Pfeiffer continues the process of going from Division II to Division III. Neither is eligible for the NCAA Division III Championship.