Release courtesy of Parker Griffith, Director of Media Relations/Division II Liaison, National Fastpitch Coaches Association
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Valdosta State ended
the 2012 regular season by topping the NFCA Division II Top 25 poll
for the sixth consecutive week, the Association announced on
Wednesday.
The Blazers (48-3) received all 16 first-place votes for the third
straight week and will enter this weekend's NCAA regional’s
as the No. 1 team in the country. After an early exit from
the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference tournament last weekend
by Kutztown (45-4), Central Oklahoma (39-5) leap-frogged the Bears
to take over at No. 2, forcing Kutztown down to third. The
rest of the top five remained unchanged in the new rankings with
Great Lakes Valley champion Indianapolis (49-7) and Sunshine State
champion Tampa (36-6) coming in at fourth and fifth,
respectively.
For the first time since March 31, 2010, previous No. 24 West
Texas A&M (35-18) finished the weekly balloting outside of the
Top 25. The Lady Buffs fell in the semi-finals of the Lone
Star Conference tournament, thus ending their streak of being
ranked in 33 consecutive editions of the poll dating back to April
7, 2010.
Replacing West Texas A&M at 24th in the new poll was UC San
Diego (35-19), which returns to the fray after a one-week
absence. The defending national champions earned their way
back into the rankings by defeating three top 25 teams en route to
the program's first California Collegiate Athletic Association
tournament title.
The NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll is voted on by 16 NCAA Division
II head coaches, two representing each of the eight NCAA regions.
Current 2012 records are shown, first-place votes are in
parentheses.
|
NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll |
||||
|
Rank |
Team |
Record |
Totals |
Last Poll |
|
1 |
Valdosta St. (16) |
48-3 |
400 |
1 |
|
2 |
Central Oklahoma |
39-5 |
365 |
3 |
|
3 |
Kutztown |
45-4 |
343 |
2 |
|
4 |
Indianapolis |
49-7 |
340 |
4 |
|
5 |
Tampa |
36-6 |
316 |
5 |
|
6 |
Minn. St. Mankato |
47-8 |
310 |
7 |
|
7 |
Cal St. Mont. Bay |
45-12 |
307 |
6 |
|
8 |
Angelo St. |
44-9 |
267 |
10 |
|
9 |
Armstrong |
44-9 |
264 |
8 |
|
10 |
Cal St. Dom. Hills |
41-13 |
223 |
9 |
|
11 |
North Georgia |
45-8 |
218 |
11 |
|
12 |
Lenoir-Rhyne |
46-11 |
208 |
15 |
|
13 |
Barry |
40-9 |
194 |
13 |
|
14 |
Rollins |
40-9 |
193 |
14 |
|
15 |
Winona St. |
42-10 |
186 |
12 |
|
16 |
Augustana (SD) |
48-10 |
171 |
17 |
|
17 |
Emporia St. |
39-9 |
170 |
16 |
|
18 |
Southern Conn. St. |
37-10 |
128 |
18 |
|
19 |
Grand Valley St. |
44-13 |
113 |
20 |
|
20 |
Mo. Western St. |
42-11 |
94 |
21 |
|
21 |
Cal St. Chico |
35-16 |
87 |
19 |
|
22 |
Ala.-Huntsville |
41-14 |
64 |
23 |
|
23 |
California (PA) |
32-8 |
54 |
22 |
|
24 |
UC San Diego |
35-19 |
53 |
RV |
|
25 |
Molloy |
42-10 |
49 |
25 |
Others Receiving Votes: West Texas A&M 17, West Virginia Wesleyan 15, Dixie St. 13, Columbus St. 9, Indiana (PA) 6, Ashland 5, Sonoma St. 5, Texas Woman's 5.
