Sports News: Spring 2007
Thursday, March 8, 2007

MORAVIAN SOFTBALL SQUAD MOVES UP TO 11TH IN NFCA DIVISION III POLL

STARKVILLE, MS --- The Moravian College softball team has moved up four spots to 11th in the nation in the first regular season National Fastpitch Coaches Association NCAA Division III Top 25 Poll of the 2007 season released Wednesday.

Ithaca College is first in the poll and received three first place votes and 191 points. Muskingum College, which was ranked first in the preseason Top 25 is second with the remaining five first place votes and a total of 184 points. Moravian received 119 points while moving up four spots from the preseason poll.

Moravian, under the direction of 14th-year head coach John Byrne (411-134), has already posted a 4-0 record this season after competing at the Atlantic versus East Challenge last weekend.

The Greyhounds are one of four teams from the East Region ranked with the Greyhounds being joined by tenth-ranked Ramapo College of New Jersey, 16th-ranked Rutgers-Camden and 24th-ranked Rowan (NJ) University.

The Greyhounds will play two teams ranked in the poll at the NFCA Division III Leadoff Classic in Panama City Beach, Florida on Friday, March 9th, and Saturday, March 10th. Moravian will face Muskingum on Friday and ninth-ranked Louisiana College. Including the Greyhounds, the NFCA Division III Leadoff Classic field of 24 teams includes 11 teams ranked in this week’s poll and another three that received votes. Eight of the top 12 teams in the nation will be participating in the tournament that runs Friday through Sunday.

One of Moravian’s wins this season is a 5-4 triumph over Roanoke (VA) College, which is ranked 25th this week.

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