BB: UAA: University Athletic Association

[RSSmith]

Can anybody predict the UAA standings this season? Who will get the post-season bid to the NCAA tourney?

I really like WashU this year, but I do not know that either Emory or Brandeis is bringing to the table. Can someone help me out?

No personal knowledge but a little research.  Here's how I'd rank them.  Does this conference get an automatic bid?

1.  Emory.  Led the conference by a substantial margin in every statistical category last year (except batting average where they led by only a few points) and graduated only three players.
http://www.uaa.rochester.edu/Baseball/NCAA_Ranking_Summary_UAA_BB_050608.pdf

2.  Brandeis.  A team with juniors and seniors pitching and in the infield  playing in a tough neighborhood.  A .500 ball club with the likes of Wheaton, WNEC, Keene State, Babson and Trinity (CT) on their schedule. 

3. Wash U.  Like Case Western, a very young team with only a handful of upperclassmen.  A .500 ball club last year without a whole lot of heavy lifting on their 2008 schedule.

5.  Case Western.  Mostly sophomores and freshmen, CWRU won only 14 games last year.  They're off to a slow start again this year.

6.  Chicago.  A salty team that won only 11 last year.


I don't know about putting WashU third.  They've started off 3-1, and they only lost one starter last year in leadoff hitter Dave Working.  They beat Brandeis last year during the UAA tournament, and split with Emory.  Emory did only lose 3 to graduation, but among them were Frank Pfister and Joe Roth, two all-American caliber players.  

You could very well be right.  I confessed that I lacked personal knowledge of your conference, and with your conference tournament being played so early in the season, I gave a lot of emphasis (perhaps too much) to the number of returning juniors and seniors.  At any rate, we'll know by next weekend, won't we.  Dan says, "Hi."

[RSSmith]

Rochester beats Emory 10-7 and pounds CWRU.  That just shows you how much I know about anything.

[ADL70]

Tournament site
http://www.uaa.rochester.edu/Weekly_Sport_Updates/BB_Update.html

WUStL is 0-3  Roch leads 3-1

[DagarmanSpartan]

WOW!!!

CWRU could clinch at least a TIE for the UAA title with a win over Washington U. today!

Who would have EVER guessed that?

Does the winner of this tourney get an automatic bid to the Division III playoffs?

[ADL70]

Pretty amazing 'tis true.  With only five teams there's no AQ though.  UR won its game so it's only the tie that's on the line.  Emory is blasting Brandeis so the worst finish would be a tie for second with Emory.

[ADL70]

Rochester is champ at 4-2  CWRU, WUStL, and Emory tied at 3-3 with Brandeis 2-4.

[DagarmanSpartan]

Well, that's better than a lot of people thought we'd do.

Certainly something to build on.

[ADL70]

Especially when the roster has only two seniors and only one, a starting pitcher, made any impact.

[wustlfan37]

This is one of the boards with the least traffic on d3baseball, but the UAA has several teams with legitimate chances to take a Pool B bid in their respective regionals...how does everybody feel about how the top UAA teams stack up against the good teams in their regions?

[RSSmith]

This is one of the boards with the least traffic on d3baseball, but the UAA has several teams with legitimate chances to take a Pool B bid in their respective regionals...how does everybody feel about how the top UAA teams stack up against the good teams in their regions?

Hey, 7.  I'm pretty sure the Centennial Conference board gets way less traffic than this one.  How are you guys set this year?  Have you found that catcher yet?  We're still waiting for the snow to melt in the Mid-Atlantic, so I guess it will be Florida/Arizona time before we see any scores.  Good luck.

[wustlfan37]

This is one of the boards with the least traffic on d3baseball, but the UAA has several teams with legitimate chances to take a Pool B bid in their respective regionals...how does everybody feel about how the top UAA teams stack up against the good teams in their regions?

Hey, 7.  I'm pretty sure the Centennial Conference board gets way less traffic than this one.  How are you guys set this year?  Have you found that catcher yet?  We're still waiting for the snow to melt in the Mid-Atlantic, so I guess it will be Florida/Arizona time before we see any scores.  Good luck.

Hahaha, well once Hopkins starts playing, I have a sneaking suspicion that might change...

WashU is very deep this year - 6 of the 8 starters in the field are upperclassmen, and junior DH Matt Bayer is a fixture in the 3-hole in the order.  Pitching-wise, the Bears have 7 upperclassmen anchoring down the staff, and several freshmen and sophomores who can get outs as well. 

Catching-wise, Joe Noon has definitely filled the void created by Andy Webb's graduation.  He handles the pitching staff exceptionally well, blocks as well as any catcher in D-3, and is an above-average receiver.

It's going to be a fun year - may the baseball send snow-melting sunshine to Homewood Campus.

[wustlfan37]

The UAA tournament starts tomorrow - any predictions?

[BigPoppa]

This is one of the boards with the least traffic on d3baseball, but the UAA has several teams with legitimate chances to take a Pool B bid in their respective regionals...how does everybody feel about how the top UAA teams stack up against the good teams in their regions?

The problem with Pool B is that they are not awarded regionally, but nationally. You have to battle the likes of Chapman, St. Scholastica, Ithaca, etc... for those four total bids.

[RSSmith]

The UAA tournament starts tomorrow - any predictions?
[/quote/]



In 5th place:  Case
In 4th place:  Brandeis
In 3rd place:  Rochester
drum roll

In 2nd place: the loser of the WashU/Emory game tomorrow and
In 1st place:  the winner

I think Emory has an edge right now with more games under their belts and quality wins over Cortland, York and Washington & Lee.  I assume it will match up both #1 starters.  WashU will have to be intense.

[wustlfan37]

This is one of the boards with the least traffic on d3baseball, but the UAA has several teams with legitimate chances to take a Pool B bid in their respective regionals...how does everybody feel about how the top UAA teams stack up against the good teams in their regions?

The problem with Pool B is that they are not awarded regionally, but nationally. You have to battle the likes of Chapman, St. Scholastica, Ithaca, etc... for those four total bids.

This is true...that being said, Emory is only three years removed from a second-place finish in Appleton, and WashU has made the tournament 4 out of the last 5 seasons.  It is definitely harder as a Pool B team this year than it was last year, but with the departure of Salisbury and York to Pool A, the top UAA teams should be kept in mind for an at-large bid.