Wednesday, February 25, 2015

PORTLAND, Ore. – Western Oregon (22-4 overall), which had its 11-game winning streak snapped last Thursday by Western Washington,  is ranked No. 4 in the second of three official NCAA Division II West Region polls of the 2014-15 season.

PacWest teams Azusa Pacific and Cal Baptist are ranked 1-2 for the second week in a row, followed by another PacWest team, BYU-Hawaii at No. 3.  WOU was third last week.

The only other GNAC team ranked in this week's poll is Seattle Pacific (19-7 overall), which is seeking its 11th straight NCAA playoff appearance.  That’s the longest current streak in Division II.  The Falcons are ranked 10th for the second week in a row.

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 next week beginning Thursday 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 (21-4); 2. Cal Baptist (20-5); 3. BYU-Hawaii (19-5); 4, Western Oregon (19-4); 5. Dixie State (19-6); 6. Chico State (17-6); 7. Cal Poly Pomona (17-5); 8. Point Loma (18-6); 9. Humboldt State (15-7); 10. Seattle Pacific (16-7).  (Note: Record listed is versus Division II opponents).