The AQ - Explained

 

written by STEVE ULRICH your must-read briefing on what's driving the day in NCAA Division III     >> Hello Tuesday. It's Election Day. It's the local elections that affect you the most. Please vote! >> Today's Word Count: 1,008 >> Thanks for reading D3Playbook. Share us with a friend, colleague or supervisor today. Let them know what they're missing.   Send D3Playbook to my inbox, please. TOP STORY 1. The AQ - Explained   It's Championship Week in the sports of field hockey, soccer and volleyball and to the victors go the spoils - the coveted conference title and the automatic qualifier (AQ) to the NCAA tournament.  But what does it all mean? Pool A is composed of the conference champions from each conference that meets the requirements for automatic qualification (NCAA Bylaw 31.3.3). Conferences that meet automatic-qualification requirements are guaranteed only one Pool A berth. Field Hockey has 16 AQs for its 26-team field, while men's soccer sports 43 AQs for its 64-team tourney. Both women's soccer and women's volleyball has 44 automatic slots saved for conference champions in their respective 64-team fields. Pool B is composed of independent institutions and institutions that are members of conferences that do not meet the requirements for automatic qualification. Field Hockey is the lone sport with these slots, as three teams will receive Pool B berths. Pool C is reserved for institutions from automatic-qualifying conferences that are not their conference champion and the remaining teams in Pool B. Berths from Pools B and C will be selected on a national basis, using regional selection criteria. There will be no predetermined regional allocations for Pools B and C. Women's soccer and volleyball have 20 slots available for at-large bids, while men's soccer has 21. Field hockey has the smallest amount with just seven slots saved for Pool C. >> Worth Noting: Field Hockey has 7 percent of its slots saved for non-AQ teams, while men's soccer is at 6 percent and women's soccer and volleyball comes in at 5 percent.   A MESSAGE FROM BLUEFRAME TECHNOLOGY     Did you know BlueFrame Technology has advanced integrations with top automated cameras like the Hudl Focus? Showcase your teams and student-athletes with BlueFrame’s full streaming service priced perfectly for D3 budgets….or use their Production Truck software to stream with your current provider. Step up your game this year and STREAM LIKE A PRO with BlueFrame. Learn more today! BlueFrame Games We're Watching Today Soccer (M): Springfield (10-6) at Babson (9-4-3), 2:00 Field Hockey: Ohio Wesleyan (8-5) at Kenyon (13-4), 3:00 Soccer (W): Franklin & Marshall (11-3-2) at Gettysburg (11-3-2), 7:00 Volleyball (W): Eastern Connecticut (16-7) at Western Connecticut (18-7), 7:00   FEATURE 2. Color of Hockey by William Douglas, NHL.com  |  photo: Brandon Hodnett, Arcadia "Kelsey Koelzer is used to being a trailblazer from her youth hockey days to becoming the first Black woman selected No. 1 in the National Women's Hockey League Draft by the Metropolitan Riveters in 2016. She blazed another trail Saturday as coach of Arcadia University's new NCAA Division III women's hockey team. Hockey experts say the 26-year-old former Princeton University and NWHL (now the Premier Hockey Federation) defenseman is the first Black woman to guide an NCAA hockey team. Arcadia, located outside of Philadelphia, lost its inaugural game 5-0 to Worcester State University on Saturday and lost 3-2 in overtime at Hatfield Ice Arena in Colmar, Pennsylvania, on Sunday. For Koelzer, the weekend games ended two years of building the Arcadia women's program from scratch and started a new chapter in her hockey career." >> Situational Awareness: "Koelzer is among a small group of Black coaches in NCAA hockey that includes former NHL defenseman Paul Jerrard, a former assistant for the Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars and now an assistant at the University of Nebraska-Omaha; Leon Hayward, an assistant at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota; Duante Abercrombie, an assistant at Stevenson University near Baltimore; and former Ohio State University captain Olivia Soares, a first-year assistant for the women's program at Colby College in Waterville, Maine." >> Background: "Coaching at Arcadia in Glenside, Pennsylvania, is a homecoming of sorts for Koelzer. She was raised in nearby Horsham. She played for Cara Gardner Morey at Princeton from 2013-17 and was captain her senior year. She scored 100 points (39 goals, 61 assists) in 128 games and earned first-team All-American, Ivy League Player of the Year and first-team All-Ivy League honors during her collegiate career." >> What They're Saying: "She knows the game really well," Morey said. "She knows what it takes to win, and I think she knows what it's like to have a winning culture. She has a strong voice, she's confident in what she knows but she's also humble. She's one of the best of all time and to see her giving back to the game this way is awesome." >> Quotable: "I still think there's a lot of importance in seeing that leadership role behind the bench and seeing someone like myself being seen leading a team full of young women on the ice," Koelzer said. >> Keep Reading A MESSAGE FROM 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. Join them today.   Donate to D3Playbook ICE HOCKEY 3.  Top 'o The Line The first USCHO rankings of the new campaign were released on Monday. Men Norwich, 1-0 Geneseo, 2-0 Utica, 1-1 Adrian, 1-1 Hobart, 2-0 UW-Stevens Point, 1-1 UW-Eau Claire, 0-1 St. Norbert, 1-1 Endicott, 1-0 Trinity, Conn., 0-0 >> Complete Poll Women Plattsburgh, 0-0 Middlebury, 0-0 UW-Eau Claire, 2-0 UW-River Falls, 2-0 Elmira, 1-0 Gustavus Adolphus, 0-0 Norwich, 0-0 Endicott, 1-0 Amherst 0-0 Adrian, 1-1 >> Complete Poll BASKETBALL 4.  Preseason All-America   The 2021-22 D3hoops.com preseason All-America women's basketball team was released on Monday. The team is chosen from previous years' All-American and All-Region nominations. First Team G-Kiera Downey, Jr., Rhodes G-Leah Porath, Sr., UW-Oshkosh G-Kenedy Schoonveld, Sr., Hope F-Nicole Heffington, Gr., John Carroll F-Jenna Taylor, Gr., Simpson Second Team G-Maddie Haberthy, St., Mount St. Joseph G-Bridget Monaghan, Jr., Scranton F-Hanna Geistfeld, Gr., Bethany Lutheran F-Averi Jordan, Sr., DeSales F-Leah Springer, Gr., Messiah >> Complete Team TRANSACTIONS 5.  Comings and Goings   EAST TEXAS BAPTIST - Natalie Bach-Prather resigned as head cross country/track and field coach. Zach Richardson named interim coach KEUKA - Kelly Orr named head women's lacrosse coach NORTHWESTERN - Brent Cramer named head athletic trainer ONEONTA - Lauren Stephenson named assistant athletic trainer. Zachary Harrington named sports information coordinator SPRINGFIELD - Melissa Sharpe resigned as head field hockey coach YORK, N.Y. - Hillel Perper named head swimming coach 1 THING 6. Tweet of the Day   Thanks for starting your day with us. 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