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Softball Nation's top Team for 9th Straight Week
STARKVILLE, MS
– For the ninth consecutive week, North Georgia topped the
latest edition of the NFCA Division II Top 25 poll and received all
16 first-place votes in the process as the Saints prepare for their
third straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Saints (45-0), who capped their undefeated season with the
Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship two week ago, were
idle last week and will remain that way until the start of the NCAA
Regionals on May 14-16 at a location yet to be determined by the
National Collegiate Athletic Association.
The Saints, ranked No. 1 in every regular season poll this year,
will look to advance to their second straight Super Regional round
and Division II College World Series.
For the second straight week Valdosta State (39-6) came in at the
No. 2 spot, while Midwestern State (46-6) and Hawaii Pacific (41-6)
swapped spots to come in at third and fourth, respectively. Metro
State rounded out the top five by coming in at fifth for the second
time in as many weeks.
The NCAA Division II Softball Committee also released this
week’s Division II softball regional polls which has North
Georgia atop the Southeast standings, followed by Lenoir-Rhyne at
No. 2, Augusta State at No. 3, Francis Marion at No. 4,
Carson-Newman at No. 5, Armstrong Atlantic at No. 6, Mars Hill at
No. 7, Wingate at No. 8, Limestone at No. 9, and Newberry at No.
10.
Following the Saints with automatic bids into the regional are
Queens University of Charlotte who captured the Conference
Carolinas Tournament Championship for the second straight year,
while Lenoir-Rhyne emerged the from the loser’s bracket last
weekend to capture the South Atlantic Conference Tournament
Title.
The NCAA’s format will pair the No. 1, No. 4, No. 5, and No.
8 seeds in one regional, while the No. 2, No. 3, No. 6, and No. 7
seeds will convene in another regional with both winners advancing
to a best two of three Super Regional series on May 21-22. The
winner of the Southeast Super Regional will advance to the 2010
NCAA Division II National Championships in St. Joseph Missouri.
