Caldwell College Closing in on Top 25 Ranking
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (February 5, 2013) - The Caldwell College softball team received votes in the 2013 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division II Preseason Poll, released last week. The Cougars, coached by Dean Johnson, went 39-16 in 2012 and advanced to the NCAA East Region Tournament for the eighth time in the last nine years. Caldwell is the lone team from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) to appear in the preseason poll.
This season the Cougars will face four teams that appear in the national preseason poll: No. 6 Minnesota State-Mankato on Mar. 9 and No. 8 Augustana College on Mar. 10-11 in Florida; No. 5 Southern Connecticut State on Mar. 19 in Caldwell; and No. 23 Molloy on April 26 in Rockville Centre, N.Y.
Caldwell returns 13 players from last year's team, including all-CACC performers Kristen Knorr (Monroeville, N.J.), Briana Gaspich (Brick, N.J.), Dia Cascone (Staten Island, N.Y.), Kourtney Wilson (Islip, N.Y.), Alyssa Calderon (Fontana, Calif.) and Nicole Velardi (Belleville, N.J.). Knorr and Gaspich also earned all-East Region honors, with Knorr receiving All-American honorable mention.
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. Final 2012 records are shown, first-place votes are in parentheses.
Rankings
Rank |
Team |
Record |
Points |
Previous |
1 |
Valdosta State (16) |
58-5 |
400 |
|
2 |
UC San Diego |
45-23 |
382 |
|
3 |
Kutztown |
52-7 |
339 |
|
4 |
Angelo State |
48-11 |
310 |
|
5 |
Southern Connecticut State |
43-13 |
303 |
|
6 |
Minnesota State Mankato |
49-10 |
281 |
|
7 |
Saint Joseph's (Indiana) |
40-21 |
270 |
|
8 |
Augustana (South Dakota) |
53-12 |
264 |
|
Tampa |
37-8 |
264 |
||
10 |
Columbus State |
40-20 |
257 |
|
11 |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
45-15 |
255 |
|
12 |
North Georgia |
49-10 |
248 |
|
13 |
Rollins |
43-11 |
178 |
|
Flagler |
39-20 |
178 |
||
15 |
Indianapolis |
50-9 |
171 |
|
16 |
Central Oklahoma |
46-8 |
163 |
|
17 |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
46-14 |
134 |
|
18 |
Emporia State |
42-11 |
112 |
|
19 |
Barry |
40-11 |
101 |
|
20 |
Armstrong |
45-11 |
98 |
|
21 |
West Virginia Wesleyan |
43-14 |
94 |
|
22 |
Abilene Christian |
30-18 |
89 |
|
23 |
Molloy |
47-13 |
86 |
|
24 |
Grand Valley State |
45-15 |
38 |
|
Dixie State |
38-13 |
38 |
Florida Southern (37), St. Edwards (23), Lenoir-Rhyne (20), Bloomsburg (14), Winona State (14), Missouri Western State (11), Montana State Billings (10), Caldwell (7), Texas Woman's Univ. (3), Ashland (3), Grand Canyon (2), West Texas A&M (2), Alabama-Huntsville (1)