Conference Championships Roundup: See Who’s Headed To Regionals

Tons of action in the College postseason this weekend!

The first weekend of the College Series is now behind us as dozens of teams qualified for Regionals, and some Division III teams qualified for DIII Nationals. Check out the results from the weekend, organized by Division and Region.

Men’s Division I

Atlantic Coast

Carolina

Advancing

1. UNC Wilmington

2. UNC

3. NC State

4. Appalachian State

5. South Carolina

6. Clemson

UNC Wilmington stayed in control of the one seed at Atlantic Coast Regionals with a 15-12 win over North Carolina in the Conference Championship final. The other qualifiers played to seed. NC State did play a tough game against UNC in the semis, losing 13-15. They’ll have their sights set on that third bid for the AC.

Colonial

Advancing

1. Maryland

2. Delaware

3. Georgetown

4. American

5. George Washington

6. Towson

Maryland won a very tight game with Delaware in an excellent finals matchup. That should secure Maryland the overall three seed (behind UNCW and UNC) at Atlantic Coast Regionals.

Virginia

Advancing

1. Virginia

2. VCU

3. Virginia Tech

4. William & Mary

UVA edged out VCU in a 15-13 final as VCU placed the highest it ever has at Conferences. Not a lot separates the top three seeds: Virginia Tech lost 15-16 to VCU in the 2nd place game.

Great Lakes

East Plains

Advancing

1. Notre Dame

2. Indiana

3. Purdue

4. Kentucky

Although Notre Dame fell by one to Indiana during pool play, they took revenge in the final with a 15-5 drubbing. Indiana and Purdue played a 14-13 nailbiter with Indiana prevailing (although Purdue may have won the style points contest).

Illinois

Advancing

1. Northwestern

2. Illinois

3. Chicago

4. Illinois State

5. Eastern Illinois

6. Loyola

Northwestern dominated the field, including a 15-9 win over top-seeded Illinois in semifinals, to win the Illinois Conference. It’s worth noting that Chicago had a great weekend, getting a one point upset win over Illinois in pool play and then reaching the finals. They lost there to Northwestern and then lost to Illinois in the 2nd place game.

Michigan

1. Michigan

2. Eastern Michigan

3. Michigan State

4. Western Michigan

5. Grand Valley

Michigan had only one somewhat close game (12-8 over EMU) but otherwise crushed the Conference competition in Kalamazoo. Despite EMU’s surprise losses of Johnny Bansfield and James Highsmith this season, they are still a competitive Regionals team and took 2nd place.

Metro East

Metro NY

Advancing

1. NYU

2. Rutgers

3. Columbia

4. Princeton

NYU has had a rough time of it this Spring, as nearly all of their tournaments were canceled. Thus they entered Conferences seeded sixth. They went undefeated in pool play and then got a resounding 14-10 win over Columbia in the final. Last year’s Metro East Nationals qualifier, Rutgers, had a tougher time, losing to Columbia in pool play, but then avenging the loss in the 2nd place game with a 14-11 victory.

New England

Metro Boston

Advancing

1. Tufts

2. Harvard

3. Boston College

4. UMass-Dartmouth

5. Northeastern

6. MIT

7. Umass-Lowell

8. Boston University (Did Not Finish)

Tufts got a 13-10 win over Harvard in an important early look at two top teams vying for the single bid out of the New England region. Harvard’s hot Easterns did not crossover into Conferences. The other big story out of Metro Boston was Boston University’s disqualification. They were reported to MIT administrators by a passing MIT student who was offended by one of the team’s cheers that quoted Insane Clown Posse.

North New England

Advancing

1. New Hampshire

2. Dartmouth

3. Vermont

New Hampshire won their first Conferences title ever with a 14-11 win over Dartmouth at NNE Conferences!

South New England

Advancing

1. UMass

2. Brown

3. URI

Massachusetts easily defeated Brown 13-7 in the South New England final, likely wrapping up a one seed at Regionals.

North Central

Lake Superior

Advancing

1. Wisconsin

2. UW-Milwaukee

3. Marquette

4. UW-Stevens Point

5. UW-Whitewater

Wisconsin went unchallenged at Conferences, wrapping up with a 15-6 win over UW-Milwaukee in the final. Milwaukee cruised to a 2nd place finish.

West Plains

Advancing

1. Iowa

2. Luther

3. Iowa State

4. Northern Iowa

Luther went 5-0 in round robin pool play, but lost 13-11 to Iowa in the final before going on to beat Iowa State 13-9 in the second place game. Iowa has had an up-and-down season, but will help their seeding quite a bit with the W over Luther.

Ohio Valley

East Penn

Advancing

1. Pennsylvania

2. West Chester

3. Temple

4. Villanova

Penn went untouched at Conferences (they lost a meaningless pool play game after wrapping up a spot in the final). They defeated Temple 13-8 in the final.

Ohio

Advancing

1. Cincinnati

2. Ohio

3. Dayton

4. Case Western Reserve

5. Ohio State

Cincinnati passed their first postseason test with flying colors, winning every game by a minimum of five points. They blew away Ohio in the final 15-5. Next stop: a two bid Regionals.

West Penn

Advancing

1. Pittsburgh

2. Penn State

3. Edinboro

4. Carnegie Mellon

5. WVU

Pitt was unscathed at Conferences, taking down Penn State 15-10 in the final.

South Central

North Texas

Advancing

1. Baylor

2. TCU

3. Texas Tech

Baylor took down TCU 15-13 in the North Texas final.

Rocky Mountain

Advancing

1. Colorado

2. Colorado College

3. Colorado State

No surprises in the Rocky Mountain Conference, as teams advance as seeded.

South Texas

1. Texas A&M

2. Texas

3. Texas State

4. Houston

Texas A&M continued its 2015 dominance of Texas with a 15-12 win in the South Texas Conference final.

Southeast

Florida

Advancing

1. Florida State

2. Central Florida

3. Florida

4. Miami

Florida State will take the overall #1 seed at Southeast Regionals with a convincing performance at Florida Conferences, winning 13-8 over Florida in the final. They did lose to Florida in pool play, but it was a meaningless game with zero incentives for either side as both had wrapped up spots in the final. Central Florida fell to both FSU and UF in pool play, but played much better on Sunday to defeat Florida 12-9.

Southern Appalachian

Advancing

1. Georgia

2. Georgia Tech

3. Tennessee

4. Kennesaw State

5. UT-Chattanooga

6. Georgia State

Georgia took a shock loss to Emory in pool play, but it didn’t hinder them as they rolled to a Southern Appalachian title with a 14-10 win over Georgia Tech in the final. Tennessee broke seed to take third.

Southwest

Desert

1. Arizona State

2. Arizona

3. Northern Arizona

ASU won the small Desert Conference easily, but Arizona had to sneak past NAU on double game point after trailing much of the game.

Arizona State (B) reached Regionals by winning the Southwest Developmental Conferences.

Women’s Division I

Atlantic Coast

Carolina

Advancing

1. UNC-Wilmington

2. Clemson

3. NC State

4. North Carolina

There was plenty of excitement to be had in Clemson, SC. Both of the four-team pools were decided by a single point – NC State upset Clemson and UNCW conquered UNC – setting up a final between Wilmington and surprising NC State. UNCW prevailed handily 15-7. Clemson thumped NC State in the backdoor game to get their revenge. All four head to Regionals.

Colonial

Advancing

1. Maryland

2. Delaware

3. Georgetown

4. George Washington

No one in the Conference could withstand top seeded Maryland, who bageled Delaware in the final to win the Conference. Meanwhile, George Washington avenged a Saturday upset loss to Towson by knocking them off on double game point in the final game to go.

Virginia

Advancing

1. Virginia

2. Liberty

3. VCU

4. James Madison

Unsurprisingly, Virginia throttled most of their foes on the way to winning their Conference, with two shutout wins and a 15-1 victory in the final. JMU came off a disappointing loss against Virginia – the 13-8 score was the only challenge UVA had all weekend – and dropped a game to Liberty, but came through during Sunday play.

Great Lakes

Eastern Great Lakes

Advancing

1. Notre Dame

2. Purdue

3. Michigan

4. Indiana

5. Michigan-B

Future winner #18 Notre Dame wrecked their pool play competition before facing upstart Purdue in the final, which they won 12-9. Purdue upset both Michigan and Indiana in pool play to make it to the final. Notre Dame continues their undefeated run through the season and will be the favorite at Regionals.

Illinois

Advancing

1. Illinois

2. Chicago

3. Northwestern

Illinois claimed the conference title with a 12-6 win over #1 seeded Chicago. Northwestern was hot on their heels, losing to Illinois 10-8 in pool play and Chicago 11-10 in the semifinals. Everyone has to feel like they have a shot going into Regionals.

Metro East

Eastern Metro East

Results Unreported

Western NY

Advancing

1. Cornell

2. Rochester

3. Ottawa

Cornell’s attempt to return to Nationals looks very possible. They topped (a reportedly shorthanded) Ottawa 15-12 in semis and had little trouble handling Rochester, 15-8, in the final. Likewise, Ottawa dispatched SUNY-Buffalo in the final game to go, and should be considered a threat in the ME.

New England

Greater New England

Advancing

1. Brown

2. Vermont

3. New Hampshire

4. Rhode Island

Confusing weekend, with lots of mixed results. Brown went 3-1, losing to Rhode Island but beating Vermont, who also went 3-1. New Hampshire defeated Rhode Island, but lost to both Brown and Vermont by a single point. Most of the weekend was decided in those small margins, but it looks like an uphill climb to topple Tufts, Dartmouth, and friends.

Metro Boston

Advancing

1. Tufts

2. Northeastern

3. Harvard

4. MIT

5. Boston College

#13 Tufts beat #20 Northeastern during the one day round robin, 9-7, to win the Conference. Harvard fought off MIT for third. Boston College beat out Boston University for the final spot to ensure everything went to chalk.

Northwest

Cascadia

Advancing

1. Oregon

2. British Columbia

3. Washington

4. Victoria

5. Western Washington

6. Oregon State

The most powerful Conference in the country delivered with on field action, but drew to a close going to chalk. While there were close scores – #2 Oregon came back from a 12-9 deficit to just beat #15 Victoria 14-12 in semis – the higher seeded team won every game. Oregon felled #1 UBC in the final and #5 Washington in pool play, bringing them ever closer to the #1 overall seed at the College Championships and shoving their way back into the “favorite” slot for a title.

North Central

Lake Superior

Advancing

1. Wisconsin

2. Wisconsin-Milwaukee

3. Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Dominant showing from Wisconsin, rolling through the Conference to win Lake Superior. UW-Milwaukee over Eau Claire is a minor upset, but both advance. Frightful 25 MPH winds with gusts up to 40 reported. Let’s hope nationals doesn’t face the same conditions.

Western North Central

Advancing

1. Iowa State

2. Carleton

3. Iowa

4. Nebraska

5. Minnesota

6. Northern Iowa

7. Minnesota-Duluth

Every team attending advanced, but still had to combat both one another and fierce wind. Because every team advanced, there was no need for bracket play and Iowa State took the crown after upsetting #9 Carleton 12-11. It was a disappointing weekend for #25 Minnesota, who went just 2-4, losing to Iowa and Nebraska and just edging Northern Iowa after coming in seeded second.

Ohio Valley

Ohio

Advancing

1. Ohio State

2. Case Western

#14 Ohio State continues their dominance of their Conference, but got a little more resistance than they are used to, with Dayton scoring 7 on them. OSU had no trouble with Case in the final and Case beat Ohio in the backdoor game to go after Ohio upset Dayton.

Southeast

Florida

Advancing

1. Florida State

2. Central Florida

3. Florida

4. Florida-B

There was quite a bit of drama in one of the nation’s most exciting Conferences. Top ranked #8 Florida State emerged the champion with a hard fought 10-8 win over rival Florida. FSU dodged having to play #16 Central Florida again, who beat them 12-10 in pool play with a big second half push, after Florida upset UCF 11-8 on Saturday. UCF got the last laugh, demolishing a gassed FUEL team 13-1 in the second place game. Florida-B claimed the final spot over USF.

Southern Appalachian

Advancing

1. Georgia

2. Emory

3. Georgia Tech

#21 Georgia displayed some dominant play, even sans star Lane Siedor (out due to illness), romping over Emory 14-3 in the final to win the Conference yet again. A double game point win over Georgia Tech landed Emory in the final and got them a bid, while Tech had to battle through a surprising Georgia State squad to take the Conferences final bid.

South Central

Rocky Mountain

Advancing

1. Colorado

2. Colorado College

3. Colorado-B

#7 Colorado and #22 Colorado College slugged it out once in pool play and once in the final, and Kali came out ahead both times, 12-11 and 12-9, respectively. Colorado-B upset Colorado State in the final game to go 7-6.

Texas

Advancing

1. Texas

2. Texas State

3. Texas A&M

4. TCU

No surprise to see #23 Texas cruise through their Conferences, with a 15-6 victory against TAMU in the final being their closest game. Texas A&M was subsequently walloped by Texas State in the backdoor game, 15-5.

Southwest

Desert

Advancing

1. Arizona

Arizona and rival Arizona State played a one off game to decide who would attend Southwest regionals, and it went down to the wire. Arizona’s early 5-2 lead was overcome by ASU, to get all the way back to double game point before Arizona finished the game, 10-9.

Men’s Division III

Atlantic Coast

Carolina

Advancing

1. Elon

2. Davidson

3. UNC Asheville

4. Wake Forest

5. High Point

Elon continues to shine as one of the top DIII teams, defeating a solid Davidson team 11-7 in the Carolina Conference final.

Northern Atlantic Coast

Advancing

1. Richmond

2. Mary Washington

3. UNREPORTED

Richmond took a loss in pool play, but that didn’t stop them from winning the NAC Conference 13-7 over Mary Washington.

Great Lakes

East Plains

Advancing

1. Valparaiso

2. Indiana Wesleyan

3. Kalamazoo

Indiana Wesleyan, the #1 seed, stumbled a bit at Conferences, first falling to Kalamazoo and Calvin in pool play and then losing to Valparaiso 15-10 after reaching the final.

Illinois

Advancing

1. Olivet Nazarene

2. Knox

3. North Park

4. Bradley

5. Wheaton

Top seeded North Park fell two slots in a round robin Conference and Olivet Nazarene was excellent, winning easily in three games and topping North Park by one to win the Conference.

Metro East

Metro NY

Advancing

1. Stevens Tech

2. UNREPORTED

Stevens Tech, as expected, took the top spot in the Metro NY Conference, beating TCNJ and Rider.

North Central

West Plains

Advancing

1. Grinnell

2. Luther (B)

3. Drake

Grinnell took down Luther’s B team 13-8 in the West Plains final.

Northwest

Northwest

Advancing

1. Lewis & Clark*

Lewis & Clark took the lone Northwest bid to D-III Nationals with a win over Whitworth in the final.

Ohio Valley

East Penn

Advancing

1. Lehigh**

2. Haverford

3. Franklin & Marshall

Lehigh opted to play Division I Regionals this year, and they crushed all comers en route to their Regionals bid. Haverford was the D-III surprise, coming from the six seed to take the first bid to D-III Regionals.

Ohio

Advancing

1. Franciscan

2. Oberlin

3. Cedarville

4. Ohio Wesleyan

Franciscan defeated Oberlin 15-9 in the Ohio Conference final and continues to look like a threat to take a spot at Nationals. Second seeded Cedarville slipped to third.

West Penn

Advancing

1. Messiah

2. Dickinson

3. Gettysburg

4. Clarion

Messiah took the top spot at West Penn Conferences with this insane play.

South Central

Northern South Central

Advancing

1. John Brown

2. Harding

3. Truman State

4. Missouri S&T

5. Colorado Mines

John Brown was convincing en route to their Conferences win, but the bigger story was that Air Force, the top seed and a bid earner for the South Central, did not advance to Regionals after placing sixth — they lost 13-15 to Colorado School of Mines in the game-to-go.

Southeast

Advancing

1. Georgia College*

Georgia College captured another bid to D-III Nationals, taking down Union 13-7 in the finals. Highly touted Alabama-Huntsville came up just short in semifinals in a 13-12 loss to Union.

Southwest

Advancing

1. Claremont*

Claremont again qualifies out of the Southwest to D-III Nationals. They defeated Occidental in the final.

Women’s Division III

Atlantic Coast

Advancing (to Nationals)

1. Wake Forest

#7 Wake Forest battled through both #13 Elon and #16 Davidson to win the Atlantic Coast. Elon gave them all they could handle in the final, in a game that never reached more than a two point margin, except for an 11-8 Wake lead. Elon got a huge break and brought it to 11-10 with the hard cap on, but couldn’t force double game point. It is a shame Elon won’t be at Nationals, as the AC has only one bid and they are clearly one of the stronger teams in the country.

Great Lakes

Advancing (to Nationals)

1. Valparaiso

Unsurprisingly, the region offered little resistance to top seeded #4 Valparaiso, one of the top contenders for the D-III title this year. They went undefeated and mostly unchallenged to claim the region’s lone ticket to nationals.

New England

North New England

Advancing

1. Dartmouth (to D-I Regionals)

2. Middlebury (to D-I Regionals)

3. Bowdoin

4. Colby

No surprises here, but note that #12 Dartmouth only beat Middlebury 12-7. Middlebury’s late season surge makes them a threat at Regionals as a dark horse team.

Metro Boston

Advancing

1. Stone Hill

2. Wellesley

Top seeded Brandeis was pushed into the backdoor game by Stone Hill, where they found a surprising Wellesley team waiting for them. They’ll be hoping for someone to reject an invite.

Northwest

Advancing (to Nationals)

1. Puget Sound

#8 Puget Sound had no trouble claiming the region’s only bid to nationals, defeating #22 Pacific Lutheran 13-6 in the final. That six was the most points scored on Clearcut on the weekend, including another win over PLU. They’ll be considered a real contender going into D-III Nationals.

North Central

Advancing (to Nationals)

1. Grinnell

2. St. Benedict

3. St. Olaf

4. Carleton

#3 Grinnell went undefeated at a windy regional, defeating #10 St. Olaf 9-6 in the final. The season series between St. Olaf and #9 St. Benedict continues to go back and forth: St. Olaf won 11-6 on Saturday, but fell to St. Benedict 9-3 in the backdoor game on Sunday. #12 Carleton failed to register a big win against any of the higher ranked teams.

Ohio

Advancing

1. Wooster

2. Oberlin

#17 Wooster claimed the Ohio Conference D-III title in an exciting one, holding off Oberlin in the final, 10-9. After a 7-4 halftime gap was closed to within one, Wooster and Oberlin traded out, and a Wooster handblock helped them score the final point to claim a spot at Regionals. Oberlin faced off with the tournament’s top seed, #23 Ohio Wesleyan in the backdoor bracket. OWU had narrowly edged Xavier 11-10 to make it into the game to go and didn’t have enough leftover to withstand Oberlin.