Wednesday, February 18, 2015

PORTLAND, Ore. – Western Oregon (21-3 overall), which has won 11 straight games, has earned a No. 3 ranking in the first official NCAA Division II West Region poll of the 2014-15 season.

PacWest teams Azusa Pacific and Cal Baptist are ranked 1-2 in the first of three NCAA rankings.

The only other GNAC team ranked in the inaugural poll is Seattle Pacific (18-7 overall), which is seeking its 11th straight NCAA playoff appearance.  That’s the longest current streak in Division II.  The Falcons are ranked 10th.

The poll will eventually determine the five teams that join the GNAC, PacWest and California Collegiate Athletic Association champions, which receive automatic berths, in the eight-team NCAA regional.

The GNAC will determine its champion in a tournament March 5-7 at Billings, Montana.

The regional will be played beginning Friday, March 13 at a site to be determined.

The NCAA will announce the eight qualifiers and the host for the regional on Sunday, March 8 with a web cast on ncaa.com beginning at 7:30 p.m. Pacific time.

West Region  – 1. Azusa Pacific (19-4); 2. Cal Baptist (19-4); 3. Western Oregon (18-3); 4. BYU-Hawaii (18-4); 5. Cal Poly Pomona (15-5); 6. Dixie State (17-6); 7. Chico State (15-6); 8. Point Loma (18-6); 9. UC San Diego (13-9); 10. Seattle Pacific (15-7).  (Note: Record listed is versus Division II opponents).