Saints Move to NCAA; Break into Rankings
The Saint Scholastica Saints Baseball team has made the move from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III for the 2005 season. This move has been prompted not only by the Saints domination of the NAIA but also because of the fact that the NAIA allows its member schools to give scholarships to its athletes. The College of Saint Scholastica does not. This has caused the Saints to run into some tough competition during post-season play from schools like Jamestown College and Oklahoma City College.
The Saints are among the first teams from the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference to make the move from the NAIA to NCAA Division III, although the rest of the conference will make the move complete in 2008. Until that time; however, the conference champion will not receive an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. That means that the Saints are stuck looking for one of a limited number of At-Large Bids to the “Big Dance.”
The Saints’ Baseball team is joined in the move from NAIA to NCAA Division III by the school’s Softball team. Last season the Saint’s Softball team cruised through the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference all the way to the NAIA National Championship Tournament. The Softball qualified for the NAIA National Championship by winning the NAIA Region III Tournament and ended up finishing the season ninth in the nation with a 40-8 overall record.
The Saints Baseball team made some big strides towards obtaining one of those coveted At-Large Bids for the NCAA Tournament by breaking into the American Baseball Coaches Association’s NCAA Division III Rankings on Monday, April 11. After the Saints took care of the Bethany Lutheran Vikings in three games over the weekend the Saints found themselves going from not ranked, to number 30 in the nation. The Saints were also ranked number 4 in the Midwest Region. Both the National poll and the Midwest Regional are topped by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater who moved from number 3 to number 1 in the Nation by way of their 18-0 record for the year.
The Saints are looking to move even more onto the national radar by taking care of the University of Minnesota-Morris Cougars this weekend. The Saints enter this weekend’s tilt with an 18-2 overall record and 6-0 in the conference. The Cougars of Morris enter Friday’s game at 5-10 overall and 4-3 in the UMAC. Look for the Saints to move even further up the ABCA National Poll when the next poll is released on Monday, April 25.
The Saints are among the first teams from the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference to make the move from the NAIA to NCAA Division III, although the rest of the conference will make the move complete in 2008. Until that time; however, the conference champion will not receive an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. That means that the Saints are stuck looking for one of a limited number of At-Large Bids to the “Big Dance.”
The Saints’ Baseball team is joined in the move from NAIA to NCAA Division III by the school’s Softball team. Last season the Saint’s Softball team cruised through the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference all the way to the NAIA National Championship Tournament. The Softball qualified for the NAIA National Championship by winning the NAIA Region III Tournament and ended up finishing the season ninth in the nation with a 40-8 overall record.
The Saints Baseball team made some big strides towards obtaining one of those coveted At-Large Bids for the NCAA Tournament by breaking into the American Baseball Coaches Association’s NCAA Division III Rankings on Monday, April 11. After the Saints took care of the Bethany Lutheran Vikings in three games over the weekend the Saints found themselves going from not ranked, to number 30 in the nation. The Saints were also ranked number 4 in the Midwest Region. Both the National poll and the Midwest Regional are topped by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater who moved from number 3 to number 1 in the Nation by way of their 18-0 record for the year.
The Saints are looking to move even more onto the national radar by taking care of the University of Minnesota-Morris Cougars this weekend. The Saints enter this weekend’s tilt with an 18-2 overall record and 6-0 in the conference. The Cougars of Morris enter Friday’s game at 5-10 overall and 4-3 in the UMAC. Look for the Saints to move even further up the ABCA National Poll when the next poll is released on Monday, April 25.
posted by Topher @ 3:33 PM
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