Thursday,
May 11, 2006
MORAVIAN SOFTBALL SQUAD RANKED 24TH IN LATEST
NFCA DIVISION III TOP 25 POLL OF THE 2006 SEASON
STARKVILLE, MS --- The Moravian College softball team, which has
earned its ninth straight trip to the NCAA Division III National
Championship Tournament, is ranked 24th in the fourth regular season
National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III Top 25 Poll
of the year released Wednesday.
Eight NCAA Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA
regions vote on the NFCA Division III Top 25 poll.
The Greyhounds received a total of 29 points. The University of
St. Thomas (MN), the two-time defending NCAA Division III National
Champions, holds down the top spot with 200 points and all eight
first-place votes. To view the complete Top 25 Poll, go to http://nfca.org/top25/index.php?cat_id=3&poll_id=124.
Moravian has played three nationally ranked teams this season,
falling to third-ranked Rutgers University-Camden, 1-0 in eight
innings, and losing to 11th-ranked Salisbury (MD) University, 2-0.
Moravian defeated ninth-ranked SUNY Plattsburgh, 5-0.
Moravian, under the direction of head coach John Byrne, is 33-7
overall and won its sixth straight Commonwealth Conference Tournament
Championship. Coach Byrne has a career record of 405-133 in his
13th season at Moravian.
The highest the Greyhound have ever been ranked in the poll was
in 2004 when Moravian held the top spot in the country for four
weeks before finishing the season as the NCAA Division III National
Runner-Up. Moravian was ranked 17th in this year’s NFCA Preseason
Poll but was not ranked in the first regular season poll. The Greyhounds
were back in the second poll in a tie for 21st before falling out
of the last poll.
Moravian is slated to return to action on Thursday, May 11th at
the NCAA Division III Regional Tournament hosted by Salisbury University.
The fourth seeded Greyhounds will play fifth seeded King’s
College at 10:00 a.m. to open the tournament.
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