Division III Playoffs Expanded

An NCAA Division III committee voted this spring for a slight increase in the number of teams participating in postseason play, but Chapman Athletic Director Dave Currey said it’s still too early to tell whether the move will be a boon or bust for the Panthers.

Since dropping to Division III five years ago, Chapman has competed as an independent and earned regional playoff berths in softball and baseball based on its teams’ overall records and strength of schedules.

But at its April meeting in Newport Beach, the Division III Management Council voted to increase championship brackets in team sports to reflect a ratio of one playoff spot for every 7 1/2 Division III teams in the country. Currently, the ratio is one playoff position for every eight Division III teams.

“I’m hoping that this redirection of conference champions and independents will maybe indicate a shift on the way seeding is done,” Currey said. “Because now it’s done on a regional basis as opposed to a national basis.”

Currey said the Management Council created three groups, known as pools, from which each team would be selected.

Pool A will be made up of conferences with seven or more members. Each conference winner will receive an automatic berth into the playoffs.

Pool B will include independents, such as Chapman, and all conferences with fewer than seven schools. Postseason berths will be allotted much as they are now, based on things such as strength of schedule and records.

All other participants will be in Pool C, which Currey said will include highly ranked teams during the regular season which belong to a conference but failed to win the conference title. Currey said this particularly affects the Midwest, with a large concentration of Division III schools.

Currey said Chapman still hopes to be accepted into the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which would move the Panthers into Pool A of the new playoff structure. But the SCIAC, the only Division III conference in the Southland, has shown no interest in Chapman.

“As our campus grows and our curriculum changes and our student body grows, it should give the SCIAC a better opportunity to see what Chapman is all about,” Currey said.

OUT OF TOWNERS

Five former county athletes who played at Biola this spring have received NAIA honors.

Baseball pitcher Jonathon Rouwenhorst (Brethren Christian) was selected a first-team All-American. He led the team with a 9-2 record and a 2.04 earned-run average. He batted .386 with 12 home runs and 49 runs batted in.

Track and field’s Nathan Hancock (El Toro), who competed in the discus, hammer throw and javelin, received All-American scholar-athlete honors with a 3.52 grade-point average. He finished eighth in the NAIA hammer throw with a toss of 162-9.

Women’s tennis players Kari Bartlett (Orange Lutheran) and Samantha Navarro (Brethren Christian) also received All-American scholar-athlete awards.

MORE ALL-AMERICANS

Concordia sophomores Rachel Lafady and Tricia Mattson earned All-American honors for their performances at the recent NAIA track and field finals in Florida and five Southern California College athletes were also recently honored for top performances this spring.

Lafady was well off her personal-best time but finished fourth in the 5,000 meters in 18 minutes 10 seconds in windy conditions.

Mattson used a strong kick in the final 200 yards, overtook three runners, and finish fifth in the 1,500 meters in 4:39.99.

In February, Lafady finished sixth in the 5,000 meters at the NAIA indoor finals.

SCC distance runner Monica Landa earned All-American honors for finishing among the top six in the 10,000 meters.

Vanguard singles player Morena Jovisic earned second-team All-American honors in women’s tennis, and softball players Gina Liebengood and Chrissy Vega earned second-team All-American honors. All-American scholar-athlete awards went to Noelle Sturgill (softball), Amy Tate (tennis) and Isis Gonzales and Landa (track and field).

HOPEFULS

Hope International has signed six men’s soccer players, including three from Orange County.

Local players are fullbacks Jon Blomberg (Brethren Christian) and Jeff Ahlberg (Troy) and sweeper Dominic Anslow (El Dorado).

Also signing were midfielder Jason Fugate (Fresno Christian), goalkeeper Dan Hackett (Santa Rosa) and forward Danil Santos (Sao Paulo, Brazil).