Landmark Sends Four Teams To NCAA Tournaments

MADISON, N.J. – A total of four Landmark Conference teams will represent the conference in the NCAA Division III Tournaments with play the first action taking place on Thursday, Nov. 13. The Landmark Conference Champions in volleyball, men’s soccer and women’s soccer all earned bids, while the Landmark earned a second team in the men’s soccer tournament.

Men’s soccer champions Susquehanna University were joined by regular-season champion Drew University in the field. Volleyball champion Juniata College earned a spot, as did women’s soccer champions Moravian College. Now in its second year of a two-year waiting period Landmark champions were not eligible to earn automatic bids to the NCAA field, but the teams were eligible to earn either Pool B (Independents) or Pool C (At-Large) bids. All four Landmark tournament teams were selected as Pool B entrants.

The Juniata volleyball team will be the first Landmark team in action as the Eagles take on D’Youville on Thursday Nov. 13 at 8:30 p.m. as part of an eight-team regional hosted by Juniata in Huntingdon, Pa. The regional semifinals will be at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Friday Nov. 14, with the regional final to follow on Saturday at 7 p.m. With a record of 31-4, Juniata is currently ranked second in the Bison/AVCA Division III Coaches Top-25 and is appearing in the NCAA Tournament for a record 28th-consecutive season. The Eagles won the national title in 2004 and 2006 and advanced to the national semifinals last season.

Drew finished atop the Landmark regular-season standings and will take on USA South Champion Christopher Newport at 7 p.m. Friday Nov. 14 as part of a four-team regional played at Richard Stockton in Pomona, N.J. Drew is in the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time in program history, and posted a 14-3-2 overall record during the season, including going unbeaten in Landmark regular season play with a mark of 6-0-1.

Susquehanna is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance and will hit the road to face ninth-ranked Ohio Wesleyan in Delaware, Ohio at 7:30 p.m. on Friday Nov. 14. The regional final will take place on Saturday at 6 p.m. The Crusaders finished the season 13-6-1 and defeated Catholic 1-0 to win the conference championship in program history, and establish a new program record for wins in a season.

Moravian returns to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the past four seasons after earning one of the four Pool B berths into the field of 60. The Greyhounds will begin play on Saturday in the four-team regional hosted by Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Moravian, which has a record of 14-5-2 will face The College of New Jersey at 1:30 p.m. with the regional championship match to follow on Sunday. Moravian won the Landmark regular season title, and then defeated Catholic 1-0 in double-overtime to earn the Landmark Championship.

NCAA Tournament play in all three sports will continue the following weekend. The women's volleyball tournament will see the quarterfinals/semifinals/finals played over three days beginning Nov. 21 on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington, Ill. The soccer tournaments will continue with section play Nov 21-22 at pre-determined regional sites, with the semifinals/finals being held at Macpherson Stadium at Bryant Park in Greensboro, N.C. on Dec. 5-6.