Pointer Notes � February 28, 2002

Wrestling Team Sends Three to National Championships

    Three UW-Stevens Point wrestlers will compete this weekend at the NCAA Division III Championships in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

     Pointers� sophomore Yan White automatically qualified for the event after winning the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title at 197 pounds. White carries a 20-4 record and is seeded fourth at the weight class this weekend.

     UW-Stevens Point had two at-large berths awarded as Cody Koenig qualified at 165 pounds and Mark Burger advanced at 285 pounds. Koenig is 19-7 overall and Burger boasts a 15-8 record.

     Pairings will be determined on Thursday night and action gets underway on Friday.

Women�s Hockey Awaits Postseason Fate This Weekend

    Imagine being a conference championship team and having just one loss all season, but still missing out on the NCAA postseason tournament.

     Unfortunately, that will be the case for one Division III women�s hockey team this season as both UW-Stevens Point and Elmira College (N.Y.) have impressive records and conference titles, but only one will participate in the postseason.

     The reason is that both teams compete in conferences with fewer than seven teams that do not qualify for automatic berths. Just one spot in the six-team field is reserved for teams from non-automatic qualifying leagues. Elmira is 24-1-1 and won the East Coast Athletic Conference West Division, while UW-Stevens Point is 26-1 and won the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association crown with a 2-1 win over UW-River Falls last weekend.

     The Pointers are ranked second in the latest coaches� poll and Elmira is ranked third. However, Elmira received three first place votes and UW-Stevens Point had two first place tallies.

     Add in the fact that Elmira currently holds a microscopic .0042 edge in the current Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and the decision gets even tougher. However, when the bids are announced Sunday night, one of the teams will earn the honor of competing in the first-ever Division III postseason tournament, which begins Tuesday on campus sites. A �frozen four� will be conducted on Friday-Saturday, March 8-9 on campus sites to determine the first NCAA champion.