MORAVIAN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM DEBUTS AT 21ST IN LATEST D3HOOPS.COM TOP 25 POLL

MINNEAPOLIS, MN --- The Moravian College women’s basketball team, which has a 7-1 overall record, has moved into the top 25 rankings at 21st in the nation in the fourth D3hoop.com Top 25 Poll of the season announced Tuesday.  The complete poll can be viewed at http://www.d3hoops.com/top25/.

The Greyhounds, under the direction of 22-year head coach Mary Beth Spirk, received votes the last three weeks including being one spot out of the top 25 last week.  The last time Moravian was nationally ranked by D3hoops.com was during the 2005-06 season when the team reached the NCAA Division III National Tournament. 

Moravian, which is 1-0 in Landmark Conference action, received 134 points in the poll this week, more than doubling last week’s total of 67 points.  The Greyhounds had 38 points two weeks ago and just nine points in the first poll of the year.

The University of Rochester is ranked first in the nation for the second straight week with 599 points and 11 first-place votes while Illinois Wesleyan University is ranked second with 593 total points and eight first-place votes.

Moravian’s only loss of the season is an 80-58 setback at Rochester on November 22nd.  The Greyhounds defeated 15th-ranked DeSales University, 67-63 on November 25th in Johnston Hall, and Moravian defeated 22nd-ranked Muhlenberg College, 98-87, December 15th in Allentown.

Moravian will return to action on Friday, January 2nd when the Greyhounds host Frostburg State University at 8:00 p.m. in Johnston Hall in the first day of the 8th Annual Starters Moravian Winter Classic.

The D3hoops.com Top 25 poll is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly.  The next poll will be on Tuesday, January 6th.