LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Virginia Wesleyan won four more games last week to remain the unanimous No. 1 team in the NFCA Top 25 softball rankings.
The (37-1) Marlins swept road doubleheaders at Eastern Mennonite and Lynchburg to wrap up the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) regular-season title and secure the top seed for the upcoming ODAC Tournament.
The five teams below Virginia Wesleyan remained unchanged and unanimous, with Texas-Tyler (34-2), Berry (35-2), Luther (29-3), Rowan (29-3) and Trine (26-2) combining to go 14-0 last week.
No. 7 Moravian (28-2) and No. 8 Texas Lutheran (34-4) both leaped over Messiah (26-5), now ninth, while Coe (27-6) is tied with St. John Fisher (23-5) for the No. 10 spot.
Three teams — Cortland (21-7), Randolph-Macon (27-7) and William Paterson (20-8) are deadlocked for No. 18, while Kean (23-5) fell seven places to No. 21 and Linfield (32-8) slipped six to No. 22 after both lost twice.
Amherst (22-6), which is riding a 13-game win streak, joined the poll this week at No. 25, just behind Whitworth (32-8), who, like William Paterson, had been receiving votes.
The NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll is selected by eight NCAA Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions. Current 2017 records are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses.
NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll – April 19, 2017
Others receiving votes: Christopher Newport 11, Saint Benedict (Minn.) 10, Otterbein 7, Springfield 7, Ithaca 5, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 5 and St. Thomas (Minn.) 2.
Dropped out: Alma, Aurora, Lynchburg, Rensselaer and Stevens Institute of Technology.