Top three unchanged in NFCA Division III Top 25

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Defending national champion Virginia Wesleyan, Texas Lutheran and Texas-Tyler remained unchanged in the first three spots in the NFCA Division III Top 25 rankings for a fifth straight week.

The (26-0) Marlins won six games last week to remain unbeaten over their last 32 games, going back to a 4-1 loss to then-reigning Division III titlist Texas-Tyler last May 25 at the NCAA Championship in Oklahoma City. Virginia Wesleyan has been the unanimous No. 1 team in the Top 25 for 14 straight weeks — a complete year — since the eighth ranking of last season on April 5.

Texas Lutheran (27-1), which has won 20 straight since a 5-0 loss to the Marlins on March 4 at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Tucson, Ariz., and Texas-Tyler (23-1), which has won 16 consecutive games, continue to roll past opponents. The Bulldogs outscored Schreiner, 31-3, in their four-game conference series, while Texas-Tyler didn’t allow any runs and scored 45 in three run-rule shortened games versus Howard Payne.

Christopher Newport (17-3) has been similarly impressive, outscoring its opponents, 30-3, last week to gain three spots and take over the No. 4 position, while Luther (19-1) also surged three places to round out the top five. The biggest gainers, though, were No. 15 Kean (seven places) and No. 14 St. Thomas (six).

Elsewhere, Calvin (15-2) joins the poll for the first time this season in a 20th-place tie with Babson, while Emory and Henry (21-3) is back in the mix at No. 25 after failing to receive votes last week. Case Western Reserve, Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Wisconsin-Whitewater all dropped 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 – April 4, 2018

Rank

Team

2018 Record

Points

Previous

1

Virginia Wesleyan (8)

26-0

200

1

2

Texas Lutheran

27-1

192

2

3

Texas-Tyler

23-1

184

3

4

Christopher Newport

17-3

176

7

5

Luther

19-1

168

8

6

Illinois Wesleyan

13-3

160

10

7

Randolph-Macon

24-2

152

4

8

Berry

25-4

144

5

9

Trine

20-4

136

6

10

George Fox

27-5

123

11

T11

East Texas Baptist

24-4

109

13

St. John Fisher

12-6

109

9

13

Moravian

13-3

103

17

14

St. Thomas (Minn.)

10-4

87

20

15

Kean

16-2

79

22

16

Williams

15-4

69

14

17

Amherst

14-2

67

12

18

Rowan

15-4-1

53

16

19

Saint Benedict

13-3

51

21

T20

Babson

12-5

48

19

Calvin

15-2

48

NR

22

Linfield

25-7

47

25

T23

Central (Iowa)

14-6

20

15

Hope

14-3

20

23

25

Emory & Henry

21-3

18

NR

Others receiving votes: Pomona-Pitzer 12, Ithaca 11, Emory 9, Muskingum 4 and Coe 1.

Dropped out: Case Western Reserve, Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Wisconsin-Whitewater.