Queens Of The Court

Super Regionals Next For Baseball, Softball; Importance Of Women's Colleges; Swimming Rules

MAY 23, 2023 | written by STEVE ULRICH

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TOP STORY
1. Queens Of The Court

Angie Zhou, Pomona-Pitzer

Angie Zhou became the fourth Pomona-Pitzer NCAA Division III singles champion as the sophomore downed Olivia Soffer of Babson, 6-2, 6-2.

The top-seeded Zhou, who faced only one three-set match throughout the championship, brought home the title after finishing second a year ago.

The Sewanee duo of Katherine Perry and Brooke Despriet claimed the doubles crown, downing Soffer and Matia Cristiani, 6-4, 6-2. It is the first NCAA individual national championship for the program.

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BASEBALL
2. Onto The Super Regionals

University of La Verne

Eight of the top 10 teams in the country moved onto the super regional round of the 2023 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship. Only #7 Birmingham-Southern and #9 Denison saw their seasons come to an abrupt halt over the weekend.

Regional Championship Games

  • #5 Aurora swept John Carroll

  • #2 Salisbury took 3 of 4 from Penn State Harrisburg

  • #1 Johns Hopkins d. St. John Fisher, 8-2

  • #23 Rowan d. Susquehanna, 4-3

  • Ithaca d. #22 Cortland, 15-0

  • Misericordia d. #16 Salve Regina, 19-6

  • #12 Baldwin Wallace d. #9 Denison, 17-2

  • #11 Marietta d. Adrian, 2-0

  • #13 UW-La Crosse d. Bethel, 16-3

  • #15 UW-Stevens Point d. Webster, 11-5

  • #6 Lynchburg d. Lebanon Valley, 5-3

  • East Texas Baptist d. Trinity (Texas), 2-1

  • #3 Shenandoah d. #10 Christopher Newport, 5-3

  • La Verne d. #7 Birmingham-Southern, 15-10

  • #8 Wheaton, Mass. d. Mitchell, 5-3

  • #4 Endicott d. Johnson and Wales, 7-1

Super Regional Matchups

  • #23 Rowan (33-13) at #2 Salisbury (33-6)

  • Misericordia (37-13) at #11 Marietta (37-11)

  • #3 Shenandoah (42-8) at #6 Lynchburg (41-7)

  • #12 Baldwin Wallace (34-10) at #5 Aurora (42-4)

  • #8 Wheaton, Mass. (41-7) at #1 Johns Hopkins (42-4)

  • Ithaca (31-14) at #4 Endicott (43-7)

  • #15 UW-Stevens Point (32-12) at #13 UW-La Crosse (34-10)

  • La Verne (31-16) at #19 East Texas Baptist (38-12)

SOFTBALL
3. The Sweet 16

Emily Silberman, Moravian (photo by Ryan Fleming)

What. A. Weekend. Four top-10 teams according to the latest NFCA rankings - #3 Case Western Reserve, #6 East Texas Baptist, #7 Tufts and #8 Texas Lutheran - went down on regional weekend of the NCAA Division III Softball Championship. We are down to 16 teams and the pairings are set for the super regionals.

Regional Championship Games

  • #1 Salisbury d. Williams, 6-1

  • Lebanon Valley d. #15 Rochester, 5-3

  • Virginia Wesleyan d. #18 TCNJ, 6-2

  • #10 Christopher Newport d. Roanoke, 3-0

  • Hiram d. Mount Union, 4-2

  • #21 Coe d. UW-Whitewater, 3-2

  • #9 Randolph-Macon d. Swarthmore, 3-0

  • Rowan d. Pfeiffer, 5-3

  • Moravian d. #7 Tufts, 4-1 (8)

  • MIT d. Simmons, 9-2

  • #5 Trine d. Wartburg, 4-1

  • #14 Concordia (Wis.) d. UW-Oshkosh, 1-0

  • #4 Linfield swept Redlands

  • #11 Bethel d. #22 Central, 1-0

  • #2 Berry d. #19 Mary Hardin-Baylor, 3-2

  • Belhaven d. #8 Texas Lutheran, 2-1

Super Regional Matchups

  • Lebanon Valley (36-10) at #1 Salisbury (42-3)

  • #13 Va. Wesleyan (38-11) at #10 Christopher Newport (29-10)

  • Hiram (27-14) at #21 Coe (35-9)

  • #20 Rowan (39-7) at #9 Randolph-Macon (42-9)

  • Moravian (35-9) at #16 MIT (35-6)

  • #14 Concordia, Wis. (40-3) at #5 Trine (38-4)

  • #11 Bethel (36-3) at #4 Linfield (44-4)

  • Belhaven (32-11) at #2 Berry (39-5)

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OPINION
4. Despite Shrinking Numbers, Women’s College Are More Important Than Ever

by Elizabeth Meade, Cedar Crest College

The first women’s colleges in the United States were founded in the 18th century in the face of deep-seated opposition to educating women. These institutions opened the doors of opportunity for women’s education, changing the face of this nation and the world for the better.

» Question: “Given that women made up 57.6% of all undergraduate students in fall 2022, some have asked whether the world still needs women’s colleges.”

» Answer: “The answer is a resounding yes. From uniquely preparing women to lead a global society and closing the gap in male-dominated fields, to being epicenters of inclusive excellence — and creating a community that promotes lifelong learning and connection beyond graduation — women’s colleges have more relevance today than ever before.”

» The Final Word: “Women’s colleges also emphasize leadership, designing coursework around that concept. And it’s no secret that many women in leadership positions in government, business and industry earned their degrees from women’s colleges and universities. These higher education institutions provide an important and unique educational opportunity for women to live, learn and develop in supportive communities that prepare them effectively for positions of leadership.

SWIMMING/DIVING
5. Rules Committee Recap

The NCAA Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Rules Committee proposed a clearer definition of what should be considered a bona fide competition in the sport.

Committee members recommended eliminating non-collegiate athletes from participating in an official program of collegiate meets. However, non-collegiate athletes would be allowed to compete in exhibition events conducted outside the meet program. Also:

  • The committee proposed an optional (permissive) rule for team diving competitions.

  • approved an experimental rule for next season that allows coaches to review video after the 30-minute protest time expires.

  • recommended an optional rule to allow the use of underwater cameras for video review to confirm disqualification for swimming infractions.

  • ties would be allowed to be decided by a method other than a swim-off, such as a coin toss, if agreed upon by both coaches. If there is no agreement, a swim-off would be held.

NEWS
6. Lightning Round ⚡️

📺 Tennis. LG announced today that the next episode of its popular original docu-series The Rivalries will highlight a decades-old NCAA Division III tennis rivalry. "The Sixth Street Rivalry" will air today at 12:45 and 5:25 p.m. ET and feature Southern California schools the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens and the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas as they face off in their quests for a place in the NCAA National Championships. As an official partner of the NCAA, LG's The Rivalries series is available free and exclusively on the NCAA Championships Channel (Channel 100) via LG Channels on LG Smart TVs. 

🗞 News. Houghton College fired two employees who included their pronouns in their emails, The New York Times reported. A university spokesman said in a statement that Houghton “has never terminated an employment relationship based solely on the use of pronouns in staff email signatures . However, one of the termination letters said she was fired “as a result of your refusal to remove pronouns in your email signature.” 

🗞 News. A scathing report from the New Jersey comptroller’s office found that a financial emergency at New Jersey City University was the result of systemwide failures, including deliberate missteps by the former president and a lack of oversight by the institution’s governing board. 

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