2014 D-III College Championships - Men's Division Preview
Erick Starkey
Posted: May 15, 2014 03:09 PM
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The seeds have been set, and 16 teams play for a chance to take home the Division III Championship from Westerville, Ohio, on May 17-18.
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Pool A
Bentley seems to be the hands down favorite to win the pool as they are the number one overall seed. They are no stranger to winning as they finished tied for first at the New England Open, won Metro Boston Conferences and finished first at New England Regionals. Lewis & Clark is the only team in Pool A who did not compete at the D-III College Championships in 2013, as Carleton finished tied for 11th and Bentley and John Brown finished tied for 15th. The race for second and third place in the pool seems to be open to anyone's as the three teams other than Bentley are close in competitiveness and ability. None of these teams have played each other yet this season, so no one will be seeking revenge. It seems as though each of the teams will stay in their seed since there is no indicator for something different.
Pool B
Lehigh is coming in on a strong winning streak; they have not lost since March 23 at Spring Awakening. They won Garden State IV, Eastern Pennsylvania Conferences and Ohio Valley Regionals, going undefeated at each of those tournaments. SUNY-Geneseo, St. John's and Brandeis are all familiar with each other, having faced one another throughout the season. St John's will be looking to get revenge against TRON, after losing to them twice in February at D-III Warm Up. Brandeis faced SUNY-Geneseo at D-III Easterns and were defeated, but only by two scores. SUNY-Geneseo is coming in on a winning streak as, just like Lehigh, they have not lost since March 23. If Lehigh takes first in the pool, and history repeats itself, Brandeis will break seed and snag the third spot behind Lehigh and SUNY-Geneseo.
Pool C
Pool C has four teams that are all unfamiliar with each other which makes this pool hard to diagnose. Claremont enters the Championships as the third overall seed after earning the Southwest region’s sole bid by only having to win their conference championship. They have performed well throughout the season, but they have not been tested as much as other teams. They are 4-1 against other Nationals qualifiers, but they have not played as many games as some of the other top seeds. Elon has picked up steam throughout their season and ended up taking second in the Atlantic Coast region, even after going 6-0 in pool play. Bryant finished second in the competitive New England region behind the number one overall seed Bentley. Kenyon SERF is coming in hot after a rocky start to the beginning of their season, but they have only played one game against teams who made it to Nationals – Cedarville – and they ended up losing that game by three points. Pool C is full of parity and looks to be open to anyone who can snag first.
Pool D
Cedarville is the highest seeded team who did not win their region; they finished second behind Lehigh in the Ohio Valley region. Richmond, Georgia College and Olivet Nazarene all won their respective regions. Cedarville also seems to come in rather untested again high-level competition as they have only faced two teams who are competing alongside them at the D-III College Championships: they beat Kenyon by three but lost to Lehigh by the same margin. The Richmond Spidermonkeys displayed their resilience when they bounced back from a 13-2 loss against Elon in pool play at the Atlantic Coast regional championships to beat them in the championship game later the same day. Disconnected and the Black Penguins have each only competed in three tournaments this season, but each has won the last tournament in which they competed. Cedarville and Richmond should be in a battle for the number one spot in the pool, while Georgia College and Olivet Nazarene will be in a battle to not finish last.
Upset Alert
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Even though Claremont is the third seed overall, their season résumé is not too impressive. The Braineaters have only lost three games throughout the season, but they only competed in three tournaments and played in only 19 games. They have won four of five games against teams in this year's Championships, but each of these games were played in February when all of the teams were still figuring themselves out. Since that tournament, Claremont has only faced nine different opponents, none of which are competing this weekend. The Braineaters have not played since the Southwest Conference Championships April 12-13, so they may have rust. In 2013, they did not perform as well as expected in pool play. They finished third in their pool even though they were ranked second and fifth overall. Claremont may find themselves sitting second or third in their pool behind the tough squads of Elon and Bryant.
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Games to Watch
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SUNY-Geneseo Snail v. Brandies TRON, Sat. May 17, 9:00 a.m.
TRON will be looking to avenge the 12-10 loss suffered at D-III Easterns to SUNY-Geneseo on March 23. Although this game is between a four and two seed in Pool B, this game may decide who takes second and who ends up third in the pool.
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Elon Big Fat Bomb v. Bryant Craze, Sat. May 17, 1:00 p.m.
Neither Big Fat Bomb nor Craze will want to lose this game given its potential to decide the second and third seed of Pool C. The third seed, if victorious in pre-quarters, will most likely have to face Bentley in the quarterfinals. Bryant has already lost twice to Bentley this season, by six at the New England Open and by nine at New England Regionals.
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Carleton College GOP v. John Brown Ironfist, Sat. May 17, 2:45 p.m.
It appears as though Pool A will follow seed with Bentley and Lewis & Clark taking first and second, but the matchup between Carleton GOP and Ironfist will likely decide who takes third. The winner of this game would advance to the championship bracket for pre-quarters, and the losers of this game will be on their way to the consolation bracket to fight for ninth place.
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Cedarville Ultimate v. Richmond Spidermonkeys, Sat. May 17, 2:45 p.m.
The two heavyweights of Pool D will face off to likely see who will take first in the pool and get a first-round bye on Sunday. The loser of this game, if first and second is truly on the line for the game, will have to compete in crossover play against the third seed of Pool A.
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Fast Facts
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The top four finishing teams from 2013 did not make it to 2014 D-III College Championships.
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Seven of the 16 teams from the 2013 Championships are set to compete in 2014 D-III College Championships.
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The highest finish for a 2014 D-III College Championship team who played in 2013 College Nationals belongs to Lehigh who tied for fifth.
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The New England and Ohio Valley regions are sending three teams each, with the Atlantic Coast and North Central sending two apiece.
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2014 is the first year the Division III College Championships will be held at the Westerville Sports Complex in Westerville, Ohio.
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Carleton College-GOP won D-III titles in 2010 and 2012, with Claremont winning the D-III College Championships in 2011.
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