LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Virginia Wesleyan wrapped up its regular season with a home sweep of Bridgewater on Saturday to remain the unanimous No. 1 team in the NFCA Top 25 softball rankings for a fourth straight week.
The (39-1) Marlins previously won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) regular-season title to secure the top seed for the conference tournament this coming weekend at the James I. Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, Va.
The top four remained the same for a third consecutive week, with Texas-Tyler (37-2), Berry (37-2) and Luther (33-3) all undefeated again over that seven-day period.
Texas Lutheran (34-4) moved up another three places despite being idle for a second straight week as it awaited the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament, taking over the No. 5 slot, while St. John Fisher (29-5) moved up four places to sixth, Moravian (33-3) remained seventh and Messiah (29-6) moved up one place to eighth. Trine (28-4) slipped three places to ninth and East Texas Baptist (33-6) returned to the top 10 as part of a tie with Rowan (29-5).
Elsewhere, Wisconsin-La Crosse (25-11) has won seven of its last eight to join the poll as part of a tie with Wittenberg (27-5) at No. 18, while No. 21 Ramapo (23-7) and No. 23 Alma (22-6) are back in the Top 25 this week.
The NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll is selected by eight NCAA Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions. Current 2017 records are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses.
NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll – April 26, 2017
Others receiving votes: Kean 22, St. Thomas (Minn.) 22, Otterbein 20, Williams 17, Wisconsin-Eau Claire 10 and Ithaca 7.
Dropped out: Amherst, Linfield, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Saint Benedict (Minn.) and Springfield.