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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – West Texas A&M’s 10-1 start through the first three weeks of the season keeps the Lady Buffs atop the 2015 NFCA Division II Poll that was released by the Association on Wednesday. With several upsets and strong starts to the season, the first regular season poll saw a lot of teams moving up and down the ladder as well as the addition of some new faces.
Poll (pdf)
West Texas A&M received 13 of 14 possible first place votes and totaled 349 points, 21 ahead of Valdosta State (328 points), which remained in the second position. Following a third place (5-1) finish at the 2015 NFCA Leadoff Classic where they suffered their only loss (then No. 16 St Mary’s), the Lady Buffs put on a dominant performance at their WT Woodward Invitation. In a tournament that featured matchups between the Lone Star and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conferences, WT went 6-0 and outscored its opponents 61-9.
It marks the 52nd straight week (358 days) that the Lady Buffs have been atop of the poll dating back to February 26, 2014, the run passes the Valdosta State reign atop of the rankings from March 28, 2012 to March 13, 2013 (51 weeks – 351 days) as the longest in recent history.
Valdosta State continued its hold on the second spot with an 11-2 start. The Blazers’ season featured a spotless 4-0 showing at the Flagler Tournament, a 4-1 record at Georgia College’s Bobcat Blast, a doubleheader sweep at Albany State and taking two of three from Shorter in a Gulf South road series.
The next three spots featured teams that were ranked 10th-16th and the top 10 has a total of four programs. In addition, four more squads enter the top 25 that were not ranked during the preseason.
Coming in at No. 3 in Cal State Monterey Bay (314 points). The Otters opened the season 7-0, including a 5-0 mark at the Desert Stinger Classic. CSUMB swept Hawaii-Hilo in its season opener and then behind an offensive explosion posted its perfect mark at the Desert Stinger, outscoring opponents 53-8 and earning hard fought win over then-No. 3 Dixie State, 4-2.
Making the second biggest move amongst ranked team was St. Mary’s (Texas), jumping from 16th to fourth after a near perfect start, winning their first 10 games of the season. Receiving the other first place vote (282 points), the Rattlers (10-1) claimed the NFCA Leadoff Classic title, which included a wins over No. 1 West Texas A&M (7-1), then-No. 4 Southeastern Oklahoma State (10-3) and Central Oklahoma in the title game (10-9). They followed that with a 4-1 showing at the Southeastern Oklahoma Regional Invitational, again defeating the Savage Storm (3-0).
An 8-1 start has Missouri-St. Louis (274 points) moving from 13th to fifth. The Tritons (8-1) posted a 5-1 mark at the NFCA Leadoff Classic and went 3-0 last weekend at a weather shortened 8 State Classic hosted by Arkansas Monticello. UMSL’s offensive is producing seven runs per game and has hit 21 home runs.
West Chester comes in at No 6 and opens its season this weekend at the Shaw Tournament in Raleigh, N.C. where it will face No. 21 West Virginia Wesleyan (0-0). Angelo State (11-1) won its first 11 games of the season and enters the top 10 at No. 7. Rounding out the top 10 is LIU Post (0-0), Alabama Huntsville (8-3) and North Georgia (7-3).
Behind two road wins over then-No. 8 Armstrong State and another road triumph at then No. 9 North Georgia, Wingate (6-2) made the biggest climb, moving from No. 25 to No. 11.
No. 13 Central Oklahoma (4-2), after a runner-up finish at the NFCA Leadoff Classic, leads the list of four newcomers. Also new to the poll this week are No. 18 Arkansas Tech (4-0), No. 19 Georgia College (11-3) and No. 25 Metro State (8-4). For the 18th ranked Golden Suns, it is the first time they have earned a national ranking.
The NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll is voted on by 16 NCAA Division II head coaches with two representing each of the eight NCAA regions. 2015 records and previous week’s rankings are shown with first-place votes in parentheses.