Reigning Champs Denison, NYU Atop Preseason Division III Poll
Reigning NCAA Division III champions Denison on the men’s side and the NYU women are atop the preseason CSCAA Division III Poll, released on Friday.
Denison tallied 373 points in the inaugural poll of the season after the Big Red lifted the national title last season. Second was NYU at 353 points, then the University of Chicago at 343. Traditional powers Emory and Kenyon round out the top five. That quintet comprised the top five at NCAAs last spring, the only change being a flip between the latter two.
MIT was voted sixth, followed by Carnegie Mellon, Williams, Tufts and Pomona-Pitzer. MIT was just 14th last year at NCAAs. Tufts was 25th, Pomona-Pitzer 16th. Bates, which finished sixth at NCAAs last year, is tipped to drop this season, finishing 22nd in the first poll.
On the women’s side, NYU’s first national title last year was the culmination of a multi-year climb. The voters think that the Violets’ era is not at its end, giving them 343 points in the first poll. Kenyon is second at 333, just two up on Emory. Dennison is fourth, Williams fifth. MIT, Chicago, Pomona-Pitzer, Tufts and Swarthmore round out the top 10.
Emory was the national runner-up last year, with Kenyon third. The next five teams follow in order. Tufts was 12th last year, Swarthmore 11th.
The rankings are voted on by committees of Division III coaches representing a cross-section of programs and conferences throughout the country. Poll committee members evaluate teams based on head-to-head performances, nationally ranked performances, significant performances achieved since the previous poll, results from invitational and championship-style competition, and the quality and depth of performances across events.
CSCAA Division III Men’s Poll
- Rank Team, Points
- 1. Denison, 373
- 2. NYU, 353
- 3. Chicago, 343
- 4. Emory, 339
- 5. Kenyon, 317
- 6. MIT, 295
- 7. Carnegie Mellon, 287
- 8. Williams, 273
- 9. Tufts, 251
- 10. Pomona-Pitzer, 241
- 11. TCNJ, 224
- 12. WashU, 203
- 13. Calvin, 186
- 14. Amherst, 176
- 15. Hope, 169
- 16. Johns Hopkins, 160
- 17. Salisbury, 123
- 18. Conn College, 113
- 19. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 106
- 20. SUNY Geneseo, 93
- 21. UC Santa Cruz, 89
- 22. Bates, 57
- 23. Case Western Reserve, 40
- 24. Swarthmore, 37
- 25. Coast Guard, 15
- Also receiving votes: Gettysburg 12
CSCAA Division III Women’s Poll
- Rank Team, Points
- 1. NYU, 343
- 2. Kenyon, 333
- 3. Emory, 331
- 4. Denison, 307
- 5. Williams, 295
- 6. MIT, 271
- 7. Chicago, 265
- 8. Pomona-Pitzer, 260
- 9. Tufts, 241
- 10. Swarthmore, 206
- 11. WashU, 205
- 12. Colby, 199
- 13. Carnegie Mellon, 183
- 14. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 178
- 15. Hope, 147
- 16. Amherst, 134
- 17. Johns Hopkins, 128
- 18. Salisbury, 122
- 19. Calvin, 104
- 20. Case Western Reserve, 85
- 21. Gettysburg, 67
- 22. UC Santa Cruz, 58
- 23. Ithaca, 33
- 24. Middlebury, 26
- 25. Trinity U, 18
- Also receiving votes: Kean 5, SUNY Geneseo 2, DePauw 2, Keene State 1, Bates 1