Coyne: Predicting the NCAA WD3 Tourney
by Jac
Coyne | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Coyne Archive
LMO small college beat writer Jac Coyne has undertaken the
thankless (and useless) task of predicting the men's and women's
Division II and Division III tournaments, along with the MCLA.
Below is his WD3 offering.
|
| Elizabeth Rave and the Continentals picked up an
automatic bid on Saturday, beating Union, 4-3 in overtime to
capture the Liberty title © Brendan Bush |
[Update - 12:07 p.m.,
Sunday]
Okay, let's start fresh here on a Sunday morning and see what we
can put together.
First, in my late-night haze on Saturday, I missed the fact that
Stevens had been upended by St. John Fisher in the Empire 8
semifinals, sending the Ducks into Pool C with a pretty decent
resume.
I have submitted a new bracket at the bottom of this page. There
are four more AQs to be settled on Sunday afternoon, and I'm still
not 100 percent comfortable with my at-large picks, so I'll shoot
for my final prediction sometime this afteroon.
Pool A (15) - Automatic
Qualifiers (predicted winners italicized, confirmed are bolded)
Babson (NEWMAC)
Cortland (SUNYAC)
Christopher Newport
(USA South)
Keene
State (Little East)
Messiah (MAC)
Endicott (CCC)
Farmingdale
(Skyline)
Franklin & Marshall
(Centennial)
Cabrini (CSAC)
Roanoke (ODAC)
Salisbury (CAC)
RIT (Empire 8)
Colby (NESCAC)
Hamilton (Liberty)
Wooster (NCAC)
Pool B (5) - For
independents and non-AQ conference teams
Adrian (10-4) - You might be a bit
surprised to see this second-year program cracking the Pool B
hierarchy, but the Bulldogs have played a decent schedule, which
includes Roanoke and Catholic. The key victory for Adrian was a
convincing, 15-9 victory over Colorado College, knocking out their
chief competitor for a berth.
Catholic (15-3) - The Cardinals
stumbled last weekend to Drew, but the worst they will finish is
14-4, which is plenty considering CUA's strength of schedule.
Claremont (12-1) - The Athenas play a
relatively weak schedule (their lone loss is a 15-7 setback to
Conn. College, the last placed team in the NESCAC), but they have a
pretty record and the magical win over Colorado College.
Drew (10-7) - The Rangers are going
to finish 10-7 or 11-6, but either way they've got to be in. I
passed by Drew in my initial look at Pool B, but their win last
weekend over Catholic caught my eye. On further inspection, it was
clear they deserve a bid.
TCNJ (15-2) - The Lions need no
introduction. You knew they'd be here.
Pool C (6) - For
remaining teams in AQ conference
Tufts (14-2) - Tufts bows out in
the NESCAC semifinals, but the Jumbos can rest relatively easy.
They don't have the strongest non-conference schedule, but the
league slate should do the trick.
Gettysburg (14-3) - The Bullets have
lost to TCNJ and F&M twice. They're in.
Union (14-3) - Hamilton managed
to beat Union in the Liberty finals - technically an upset, but
those two teams are pretty even. The Dutchwomen are easily into the
tournament, they just cost themselves a regional with the
setback.
Stevens (15-2) - Do the Ducks
have a good enough schedule to bump William Smith,
Middlebury and Washington & Lee out of the mix? Or
even Elizbethtown, for that matter? We'll assume so for right
now.
St. Mary's (12-5) - The Capital is
going to get a second bid, but who should it go to? The margin
between St. Mary's and Mary Washington is razor close. They split
head-to-head (with MWC winning the most recent game), St. Mary's
beat Roanoke but lost to W&L, Mary Washington beat W&L but
lost to Roanoke. The Seahawks winning percentage is better, but
only because the Eagles (13-7) played three more games. This one
could go either way, and I wouldn't be stunned if Mary Washington
got it, but I'm going with St. Mary's.
Williams (12-5) - So long William
Smith. Through no fault of their own, the Herons get the gate while
the Ephs slip into this spot. Two wins over Tufts, wins over Union
and Trinity, along with a NESCAC finals appearance should be
enough to get Williams into the dance.
WD3 Bracket
First Round - May 6
SALISBURY BRACKET
Claremont at Cabrni
Drew at St. Mary's
Christopher Newport at Gettysburg
HAMILTON BRACKET
Cortland at Stevens
RIT at Catholic
COLBY BRACKET
Endicott at Babson
Keene at Williams
F&M BRACKET
Farmingdale at Union
Messiah at Roanoke
Adrian at Wooster
Second Round - May 9
SALISBURY BRACKET
Claremont/Cabrini winner at Salisbury
SMC/Drew winner vs. CNU/Gettysburg winner (at Salisbury)
HAMILTON BRACKET
Stevens/Cortland winner vs Tufts (at Hamilton)
RIT/Catholic winner at Hamilton
COLBY BRACKET
Endicott/Babson winner at Colby
Keene/Williams winner vs. TCNJ (at Colby)
F&M BRACKET
Farmingdale/Union winner vs. Roanoke/Messiah winner (at
F&M)
Adrian/Wooster winner at F&M
