Thursday, February 10, 2005

MORAVIAN SOFTBALL SQUAD TIED FOR 2ND IN NFCA DIVISION III PRESEASON POLL

STARKVILLE, MS --- The Moravian College softball team has been ranked in a tie for second in the nation in the 2005 National Fastpitch Coaches Association NCAA Division III Preseason Top 25 Poll released late Wednesday.

The University of St. Thomas (MN), last year’s NCAA Division III World Series champion and the team that defeated Moravian twice in the World Series including the championship game, received all eight first-place votes and 200 points to hold down the top spot in the poll. Moravian, which was second in the final poll last season, received 185 points as did Salisbury (MD) University, which the Greyhounds defeated twice in last spring’s World Series.

Moravian, under the direction of 11th-year head coach John Byrne (333-117), returns ten players and seven starters from last year’s 40-6 squad that made its seventh consecutive trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament and first to the World Series. The Greyhounds are also the five-time defending Commonwealth Conference Champions and have added six talented newcomers to the roster.

Moravian is one of three teams from the East Region ranked with the Greyhounds being joined by 16th-ranked Rutgers University-Camden and 21st-ranked William Paterson University (NJ). Ramapo College of New Jersey of the East Region received votes in the poll but is not ranked in the top 25.

The Greyhounds, who begin their 2005 season at the Atlantic versus East Challenge in Virginia Beach, Virginia on Friday and Saturday, March 4th and 5th, will play at least three teams ranked in the NFCA Preseason Poll. Moravian will play #23 Oneonta State University of New York on Friday, March 11th on the first day of the Salisbury Sea Gull Invitational in Salisbury, Maryland, and the Greyhounds will battle #2 Salisbury on Saturday, March 12th on the second day of the tournament. The Greyhounds will also play at #21 William Paterson in a doubleheader in Wayne, New Jersey on Thursday, April 21st. Moravian also has two games scheduled with Christopher Newport (VA) University, which received votes in the NFCA Preseason Poll.

The complete poll can be found at http://nfca.org/top25/index.php?cat_id=3.

2005 NFCA - NCAA Division III Preseason Top 25 Poll (released February 9, 2005)

Others receiving votes:
Emory (GA) University, 13; Ramapo College of New Jersey, 10; University of Wisconsin-Stout, 9; University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 6; Christopher Newport (VA) University, 6; Bluffton College, 3; Union College, 3.