INDIANPOLIS – Carson-Newman rose to No. 4 in the Southeast Region rankings released by the NCAA Wednesday in the final batch before the selection show solidifying the Eagles spot for a postseason berth in the December regional.
The top eight teams make the NCAA Division II Playoffs with an automatic qualifier coming from the South Atlantic Conference, the Peach Belt Conference and Conference Carolinas. The No. 1 team in the region will host the eight teams for three straight days from Dec. 5-8. The winner of the region will advance to the NCAA National Championships from Den. 12 to Dec. 14 in Denver, Colo.
Conference Carolinas does not have a team in the top 10 but will receive a bid from its conference tournament champion and be seeded eighth bumping a team from the SAC or Peach Belt.
Fifteen of the 29 matches played by Carson-Newman this season have come against other regionally ranked foes with an 8-7 mark in those affairs. USC Aiken and Queens are the two teams directly above the Eagles with C-N splitting the series with the Pacers and falling twice to the Royals.
Wake up. Kick back. Enjoy the swat party that @CarsonNewmanVB put on last night in a sweep of @mhulions. pic.twitter.com/WJdK0TRhgb
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) November 20, 2019
The Eagles produced the lone win against the top ranked team in the region, Wingate on Oct. 19 taking down the Bulldogs in four frames. Cuddy Arena will be the site of the regional but the Eagles get an opportunity to get a second win Friday at 4 p.m. in the SAC semifinals.
Carson-Newman was able to move up because Anderson was swept on the road at Tusculum in the regular season finale. The Trojans took down the Pioneer in three sets in the SAC Quarterfinals but are 4-3 in November.
Augusta, who would be C-N's opponent if everything holds, moved up to fifth courtesy of a sweep against USC Aiken on Friday night. The Jaguars open Peach Belt Tournament action Friday against UNC Pembroke as the No. 3 seed.
Flagler displaced Lander for what will be the final at-large spot entering the postseason tournament being on opposite sides of the bracket.
The official NCAA selection show is scheduled to air Monday night, Nov. 25, at 7:30 p.m. on ncaa.com. Full reaction, notes and schedule will be posted on cneagles.com later that evening.
|
Rank |
School |
Record |
|
1 |
Wingate |
28-1 |
|
2 |
USC Aiken |
25-4 |
|
3 |
Queens |
22-5 |
|
4 |
Carson-Newman |
22-7 |
|
5 |
Augusta |
24-8 |
|
6 |
Anderson |
21-6 |
|
7 |
Flagler |
22-7 |
|
8 |
Lander |
19-9 |
|
9 |
Lenoir-Rhyne |
16-14 |
|
10 |
Mars Hill |
15-14 |
- CN -
