The Skinny on SOS

 

written by STEVE ULRICH your must-read briefing on what's driving the day in NCAA Division III   Donate to D3Playbook Won't you please consider making a gift to D3Playbook. Your gift will help us offset the costs of operating the newsletter and enable us to continue to provide the quality you have come to expect. My heartfelt thanks to those who have already generously contributed. Please join them today.   >> Good Wednesday morning ... Happy 57th Madame Vice President. >> Today's Word Count: 1,212 >> Thanks for reading D3Playbook. Share us with a friend today. Let them know what they're missing. >> Conference Scheduling: Would you like assistance with conference scheduling? After 2020-21, I'd bet the answer is YES. Give us a chance to show what we can provide for you and your membership. After all, it's 26 years of experience working for YOU.   Send D3Playbook to my inbox, please. TOP STORY 1. The Skinny on SOS One of the most misunderstood factors in Division III regional rankings is the "strength of schedule." The SOS is a primary criteria that factors into today's initial regional rankings in field hockey, soccer and volleyball.  The strength of schedule is made up of two factors: the opponents’ winning percentage (OWP) and the opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage (OOWP). Opponents’ Average Winning Percentage (OWP). Take each opponent’s won-lost record against other Division III teams (excluding the results against the team in question); add up all wins and all losses to get the cumulative won-lost record that is used to determine the opponents’ winning percentage. Opponents’ Opponents’ Average Winning Percentage (OOWP). The strength of each opponent’s schedule is measured by taking all of their opponents’ won-lost records and finding the winning percentage based on the total opponents’ opponents’ won-loss record. This recognizes the fact that two opponents with similar won-lost records may have played far different schedules (in terms of strength of opponents). Strength-of-Schedule Calculation. Using the strength of schedule, add two-thirds of the OWP to one-third of the OOWP. Team A’s strength-of-schedule calculation is as follows: Easy, right? >> Follow this link to see the soccer pre-championship manual. Go to page 51 for the SOS calculation OFFICIALS 2. National Coordinators Named Melissa Coyne and Steve McCown have been named national coordinators of officials for women's lacrosse and softball, respectively. This will be Coyne's second stint in the position. She previously held the role from 2014-19. She succeeds Laura Hebert, who resigned earlier this year. As the national coordinator, Coyne will oversee communication among women's lacrosse officials, conference coordinators, coaches and the NCAA. She will help provide consistency in the interpretation of NCAA women's lacrosse rules and mechanics. McCown has been named the NCAA softball national coordinator of umpires, bringing more than 30 years of umpiring experience to the position. As the national coordinator, he will oversee communication among umpires, conference coordinators, coaches and the NCAA, and will help provide consistency in the interpretation of NCAA softball rules and umpiring mechanics. In addition, McCown will work with the Division I, II and III Softball Committees in the identification, training, selection and evaluation of umpires for each championship. McCown succeeds Craig Hyde, who recently retired from the role. >> Read More on Coyne >> Read More on McCown A MESSAGE FROM ULRICH CONSULTING LLC   "It's been a long A long time coming But I know a change gonna come Oh, yes it will" - Sam Cooke Would you like to take an early look and "test drive" our upcoming newsletter? Drop us a line and we will send it your way.  GOLF 3.  Lions Den Penn State Altoona won its first Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference men's golf title since 2010 with a 22-stroke victory over Penn State Behrend.  The Nittany Lions led by six shots after the first round but pulled away over the final 18 for the school's first AMCC championship since 2017. Altoona's Andrew Ferguson posted identical rounds of 77 to capture medalist honors. With its championship win, Penn State Altoona men's golf earns the AMCC's automatic bid to compete in the NCAA Division III Golf Championship. The Lions will travel to Mission Inn Resort and Club at Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. to compete in the event on May 10-13. >> Complete Team and Individual Scoring Emory fired an eight-under-par 276 to win the Golfweek DIII Men's Invitational by 13 shots over runner-up Methodist. Averett's Caleb Kimbrough won the individual title with a 67-72-66--205.  >> Results The Emory women also took top honors at the Golfweek Fall Invite, edging Centre by two shots. The Eagles' Sharon Mun held off Methodist's Jillian Drinkard by a shot for medalist honors. >> Results SOCCER 4.   Still No. 1 Sophie Vieira, TCNJ / photo by Jimmy Alagna TCNJ and W&L are still on top of the weekly soccer rankings this week from the United Soccer Coaches and D3soccer.com.   Women (United Soccer Coaches) TCNJ, 13-0 Johns Hopkins, 11-0-1 Washington, Mo., 12-0-1 Christopher Newport, 11-0 MIT, 15-0-1 William Smith, 12-1-1 Misericordia, 12-1 McDaniel, 13-1 Loras, 13-0-1 Messiah, 10-2-1 >> Complete Poll   Women (D3soccer.com) TCNJ, 13-0 Johns Hopkins, 11-0-1 Christopher Newport, 11-0 MIT, 15-0-1 Washington (Mo.), 11-0-1 William Smith, 12-1-1 Misericordia, 12-1 McDaniel, 13-1 Messiah, 10-2-1 Centre, 13-1-1 >> Goals: Myah Croze (Western Connecticut) 22; Delaney Parker (Westfield State) 21; Emily McCarthy (Mount St. Vincent) 19; Tiffany Michalek (Pitt-Greensburg) 17.   >> Complete Poll >> Matches We're Watching Today No. 1 TCNJ (13-0) at No. 2 Johns Hopkins (11-0-1) No. 7 Misericordia (12-1) at Lycoming (9-4-1) No. 9 Loras (13-0-1) at No. 16 Wartburg (12-1-1) Westminster, Pa. (12-1-1) at Chatham (7-4-1) Hanover (11-0-2) at Rose-Hulman (9-2-1)   Men (United Soccer Coaches) Washington and Lee, 11-0-1 Trinity (Texas), 13-0 Tufts, 10-0-2 Messiah, 11-0-2 Montclair State, 13-1-1 Otterbein, 10-0-3 MIT, 11-2-1 Washington, Mo., 8-2-1 Cortland, 12-2-1 St. Olaf, 13-1-1 >> Who's New: Franklin & Marshall, Christopher Newport, Penn State Harrisburg >> Complete Poll Men (D3soccer.com) Washington and Lee, 11-0-1 Messiah, 11-0-2 Tufts, 10-0-2 Trinity (Texas), 11-0 Montclair State, 13-1-1 Ohio Wesleyan, 10-1-2 Amherst, 9-2-1 Calvin, 12-2-2 Emory, 7-1-4 Claremont-M-S, 10-1-2 >> Complete Poll >> Goals Against Average: Shane Keenan (Montclair State) 0.118; Dane Gesamondo (Medaille) 0.145; Jack Pedreschi (Kenyon) 0.266; Bernie White (Amherst) 0.283 >> What We're Watching Today No. 6 Otterbein (10-0-3) at Wilmington (10-0-3) No. 24 Swarthmore (9-2-2) at Washington College (8-4-1) Lynchburg (8-4-1) at Randolph (11-0-2) Luther (9-4-2) at Dubuque (10-3-1) FIELD HOCKEY 5.    High on Hamilton   Keeley Duran, Hamilton / photo by Josh McKee Babson moved up one spot into the No. 4 position in this week's National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll. Hamilton made the biggest leap, jumping four slots to No. 16. Middlebury, 13-0 Johns Hopkins, 14-0 Tufts, 9-2 Babson, 13-1 Kean, 14-1 Rowan, 10-2 Amherst, 9-3 Messiah, 11-2 Trinity, 10-3 Bowdoin, 10-3 >> Save Percentage Leaders: Clare Maguire (Scranton) .941; Sarah Quinlan (Geneseo) .848; Ryan Dowling (New Paltz) .841; Gatlin Snyder (Randolph-Macon) .839; Kelli McCarthy (Salem State) .838 >> Matches to Watch Today No. 12 Washington and Lee (11-0) at Shenandoah (12-1) St. John Fisher (8-5) at No. 19 Cortland (12-1) Worcester State (11-4) at Keene State (7-9) Susquehanna (11-3) at Keystone (10-4) >> Complete Poll TRANSACTIONS 6.  Comings and Goings   BLACKBURN - Daniel Johnson named head women's basketball coach BREVARD - JD LeMay named head men's lacrosse coach CARTHAGE - Rebecca Congel named assistant women's lacrosse coach CCNY - Tian Tang named interim head women's basketball coach MASS-BOSTON - Danielle Blanchard named head women's ice hockey coach NEUMANN - Shannon Padula named head softball coach OSWEGO - Adam Regano named director of athletic communications. Juan Martinez named interim head cross country/track and field coach REDLANDS - Geoff Roche will step away as director of tennis effective November 12 ST. THOMAS - Peter Hurtgen named assistant director of athletics SUSQUEHANNA - Kirsten O'Malley and Kristin Blair named assistant track and field coaches UTICA - Madyson Moore named assistant women's ice hockey coach WELLS - Cory Moehringer named assistant director for sports information WHEATON, Mass. - Dan Munsey named head tennis coach  1 THING 7.  Chi-Town is Sky-Town Photo: Stacy Revere/Getty Images Candace Parker came home this offseason with one goal — to deliver Chicago its first WNBA title. Mission accomplished. What's happening: The Sky used a furious fourth-quarter rally Sunday afternoon to beat the Mercury, 80-74, and become the first team to ever win a WNBA title with a sub-.500 regular-season record. Vengeance: The Sky's only other Finals appearance came in 2014, when they were swept by ... the Mercury. Fun fact: Chicago joins L.A. and Washington, D.C., as the only cities with the "grand sextet" — titles in the Big Four, MLS and WNBA. courtesy of Axios   Thanks for starting your day with us. What did you think of today's newsletter?  Please invite your friends to sign up for D3Playbook

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