As we do every year, here is where you can post thoughts about the bracket, any information you might have, and any thoughts before the bracket comes out! We will try and update this thread as we continue to hear information come in and keep you all updated with recent data.
I’m personally most excited to see where the 8 top seeds go and which one’s are hosting. The 4/5 potential matchup is yet to be determined and not to look ahead but there could be some juicy Sweet 16 and Elite 8 matches yet to come.
The Bracket (Men’s)
#1 Emory*, Trinity TX, Sewanee, NC Wesleyan, W&L
#2 CMS*, Whitman, UT-Tyler, UCSC
#3 Middlebury*, Skidmore, TCNJ, Wilkes, Hunter, Ramapo
#4 Bowdoin*, MIT, Stevens, Colby-Sawyer, Nichols, Southern Maine
#5 CMU*, Mary Washington, Johns Hopkins, Yeshiva, Goucher
#6 Wash U*, UW-W, Rose Hulman, Grinnell, Edgewood
#7 Chicago*, Gustavus, Coe, John Carroll, and Carthage.
#8 Case*, Kenyon, Kalamazoo, Franciscan, Grove City, Messiah
*denotes host site
The Bracket (Women’s)
#1 Emory, W&L*, Hanover, John Carroll, Methodist, Westminster PA
#2 Williams*, MIT, Skidmore, Messiah, Endicott, Wilkes
#3 Pomona, CMS*, Trinity TX, UT-Tyler, Lewis & Clark, UCSC
#4 Amherst*, Wesleyan, UMW, Ithaca, Simmons, SUNY Geneseo
#5 Johns Hopkins, Middlebury*, TCNJ, Elizabethtown, Penn State Behrend, Baruch
#6 Bowdoin*, Tufts, Colby-Sawyer, Farmingdale State, UMass Darthmouth, Gwynedd Mercy
#7 Chicago, UW-Whitewater*, Gustavus, Wheaton, Hope, Northwestern-St. Paul, St. Scholastica
#8 Sewanee, Wash U*, Denison, Coe, Grinnell, Concordia Wisconsin
*denotes host site
Thanks for making us your source for Division III Tennis info! Not that you have much choice, but still!
Ptedicting Franciscan will go all the way
I agree 100%
If Franciscans 1 through 8 wasn’t injured, I’m sure they would go all the way
Fire it up lords!
In the Women’s bracket based on 4/28 rankings, NESCAC sent #2, #5, #6, and #7 to different regions. You probably think #8 being in the same region as #7 is a tough draw. How about the SCIAC #3 and #4 staying in the same region ? Can anyone spin that so it doesn’t seem like a major injustice ?
This is just geography. There’s not really another place to put CMS/Pomona without the NCAA paying for a flight. They don’t do that, except for maybe 1 team a year (usually Texas or Pacific Northwest team where they are qualified but must travel to get in a draw). Yes it’s tough.
The geography as it relates to travel costs does appear to be a legitimate constraint. However, given other people’s inquiries about possibly sending another NESCAC team to a different region as a #1 seed, there is a logical solution. Just make the Elite Eight site in the Northeast and send the true top 8 seeds out to different regions when the rankings reflect it would be deserving. The cost of sending 1 or 2 teams on a plane for the regional will be less than the cost of 4 NESCAC teams flying to the Elite Eight. Even if it stayed in the Northeast 3 out of every 4 years, this would still work in terms of budget. This is a good strategy because there are also non-NESCAC highly ranked teams from the Northeast.
Also noticed that NESCAC #17 is in the same region as #6. That’s what you call a POWERFUL conference. That placement is too correct to be random. Too bad for the favorite in that matchup that the head-to-head went the other way in regular season. Maybe that is some justice, but #3 and #4 in national rankings meeting in the Sweet 16 looks like an outright conspiracy.
Do individual draws come out today as well? If so, who do you think gets the #8 spot from the Northeast? Also, team related, is there any chance that Babson is in the conversation for a Pool B spot?
No, they come out later this week I believe. NE can give more clarity on the 8th spot.
For Babson, NEWMAC conference is now Pool A, therefore Babson would have to get a Pool C, which we know is not happening.
I’ll try to do a quick individuals prediction tomorrow. Think pretty close between Zykov and Reid (yes, Shaw, I know Carl beat Anton earlier this year).
The NCAA website says that individual draws come out this Wednesday after 7 pm.
Draws come out then as well or just the selections?
Just selections, draws later
On the women’s side who will likely get to host? Is it possible that the Northeast region will have 4 hosts because of the strength of the NESCAC this year?
Unfortunately, pure speculation but I think a Northeast team will need to travel to the Midwest, since the NE has almost all the 1 seeds.
When is bracket released?
It has varied in the past, but usually at some point in the afternoon. However, we’ve heard that it may be officially released as early as noon this year. Stay tuned…
How does the selection process work? Who is on the committee?
Men’s committee: http://web1.ncaa.org/committees/committees_roster.jsp?CommitteeName=3MTENNIS
Women’s committee: http://web1.ncaa.org/committees/committees_roster.jsp?CommitteeName=3WTENNIS
Homepage with more information: http://www.ncaa.org/championships/division-iii-mens-and-womens-tennis
Is it feasible on the women’s side that the NESCAC gets FIVE pool C spots? It’d be such a loss of quality competition if Wes, Bowdoin, or Tufts doesn’t make the cut. But—spoiler—I’m not on the selection committee, just curious.
Not just feasible but it should be that Midd, Amherst, Wesleyan, Bowdoin, and Tufts get Pool C spots. We shall see what the committee says in a couple of hours.