Moravian College Athletics

Sports News: Spring 2003

Wednesday, May 7, 2003

MORAVIAN SOFTBALL JUMPS INTO NATIONAL POLL AT 19TH
IN NFCA/USA TODAY TOP 25 POLL

COLUMBIA, MO --- The Moravian College softball team has returned to the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association NCAA Division III Top 25 Poll released Wednesday. The Greyhounds are ranked 19th in the nation in the fourth poll of the season.

Pacific Lutheran University received five first-place votes in the poll for 196 points while Emory (GA) University had one first place vote and 190 points and Muskingum (OH) College had the final two first place votes and 190 points. The Greyhounds received 57 points.

Moravian, under the direction of ninth year head coach John Byrne (290-109), is 29-8 overall, has been seeded third in the NCAA Division III Regional at Ramapo College. The Greyhounds will play sixth seeded the United States Merchant Marine Academy at 12:00 p.m. on Friday, May 9th in the second game of the tournament. Moravian won its third straight Commonwealth Conference Tournament last weekend and its fourth consecutive Commonwealth Conference Championship. The Greyhounds trip to the NCAA Regionals is the sixth straight for the program.

Moravian is one of four teams from the East Region ranked with the Greyhounds joining eighth-ranked Bethany (WV) College, 13th-ranked Ramapo (NJ) College and 25th-William Paterson (NJ) University. The Greyhounds were ranked 20th in the preseason poll and moved up to 18th in the first regular season poll before falling out of the rankings for three week. Moravian has been ranked as high as eighth in the nation since the 1998 season.

The Greyhounds have already played eighth-ranked Salisbury (MD) University this season, falling to the Sea Gulls, 4-0. Moravian is in the same NCAA Regional with Salisbury and Ramapo this weekend.

2003 USA Today/NFCA - NCAA Division III Top 25 Poll (released May 7, 2003)

Rank	School (first place votes)	Record	Pts.	Previous Ranking
1.	Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) (5)	30-1	196	1
2.	Emory (Ga.) (1)	33-4	190	2
3.	Muskingum (Ohio) (2)	39-3	189	3
4.	SUNY Cortland (N.Y.)	38-6-1	170	5
5.	Central (Iowa)	32-4-1	164	8
6.	Illinois Wesleyan	33-6	153	11
7.	Salisbury (Md.)	37-3-1	151	6
8.	Bethany (WV)	31-6	145	9
9.	Wheaton (Mass.)	33-7	142	7
10.	Alma (Mich.)	30-4	131	10
11.	East Texas Baptist	30-11	114	15
12.	Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.)	26-9	97	NR
13.	Ramapo (N.J.)	32-5	96	13 (tie)
14.	(tie) U. of Chicago (Ill.)	21-8	85	20
	(tie) Methodist (N.C.)	36-8	85	13 (tie)
16.	Ithaca (N.Y.)	28-9	76	18
17.	Wartburg (Iowa)	32-7	68	NR
18.	Tufts (Mass.)	25-11	62	NR
19.	Moravian (Pa.)	29-8	57	NR
20.	Chapman (Calif.)	29-8	51	NR
21.	Western New England (Mass.)	28-5	42	25
22.	Washington University (Mo.)	30-7	40	17
23.	Lake Forest (Ill.)	23-11	31	NR
24.	Simpson (Iowa)	31-4-1	19	4
25.	William Paterson (N.J.)	27-10-1	12	NR

Dropped out: Geneseo (N.Y.), Western Connecticut State, St. Thomas (Minn.), California State-Hayward, Rutgers-Camden (N.J.), Montclair State (N.J.), Maryville (Tenn.).

Others receiving votes: Wittenberg (Ohio) 12, Keene State (N.H.) 11, St. Thomas (Minn.) 3, Maryville (Tenn.) 2, California Lutheran 1, Montclair State (N.J.) 1, Geneseo (N.Y.) 1.

Others considered:Cabrini (Pa.), King's (Pa.) LaVerne (Calif.), Linfield (Ore.), Rochester Institute of Technology (N.J.), Norwich (Vt.), California State-Hayward, Springfield (Mass.), Endicott (Mass.), Union (N.Y.), Oneonta (N.Y.), Webster (Mo.), Coe (Iowa), Emory and Henry (Va.), College of Mt. St. Joseph (Ohio), Thomas More (Ky.), Wisconsin-Whitewater, Carthage (Wis.).