Another season has come and gone much too quickly. Allow me to be the first (okay, maybe not the first) to congratulate the new National Champions, the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets and the Washington U. Bears. Huzzah!

With the long offseason looming, it’s time to take stock of where the various poll records stand, and who might threaten them next season. With a total of 140 women’s and 139 men’s polls, covering nine seasons, in the books, two programs stand alone as the only ones to receive votes in each and every poll ever taken. The Washington U. Bears have never failed to attract voting attention in a women’s poll, which can also be said of the men’s team at the College of Wooster. DePauw sits in second place on the women’s side, having received votes in 139 polls, including the last 129 in a row. UW-Stevens Point is the second-most frequent votegetter among the men, appearing in the voting in 132 of the 139 polls. The second-longest votegetting streak belongs to Amherst, but at 95 weeks it would take the Lord Jeffs well over two years to surpass the Scots’ streak.

The Bears and Scots go into the offseason holding a bushel of poll records. Wash U. has been in the women’s Top 10 a record 104 times, 15 times more often than their closest challengers from Bowdoin and Scranton. The Bears also recorded the longest streak of Top 25 appearances, being ranked in 110 straight polls between 1999 and 2006. The longest current streak belongs to Messiah at 90 weeks, meaning that Wash U.’s streak will not be headed next season.

On the men’s side, Wooster holds three records beyond their vote-getting streak. Their 94 Top 10 appearances lead Amherst by 11; their 131 Top 25 appearances are 15 more than UW-Stevens Point; and their streak of 54 straight Top 10 appearances (between 2004 and 2007) is 16 longer than the longest currently active streak, belonging to Amherst. The Lord Jeffs, however, do hold one poll record, having been in the Top 25 for 94 straight weeks, two more than the Fighting Scots—and both of these streaks are currently active.

The other two women’s poll records belong to Scranton and Bowdoin. The Royals have made 123 appearances in the Top 25, three more than Wash. U., while the Polar Bears hold the one record that may never be topped: 89 consecutive weeks in the Top 10, between 2001 and 2007. The longest currently active Top 10 streak belongs to Howard Payne, but at 26 weeks, they’d have to stay in the Top 10 for about four more years to top the Bowdoin streak. That would be a nice achievement, but not one that compares to an undefeated national championship season, I imagine.

Debutantes:
Women: First and foremost, by “Finishing It” in Holland, Howard Payne becomes the 19th member of the women’s #1 Club. The other South Region team that advanced to the Final Four, #6 Oglethorpe, cracked the Top 10 for the first time ever. Congratulations to the Jackets and Petrels!
Men: Six squads that had impressive showings in the NCAA tournament populate this section this week. Final Four participant Ursinus moved up to #7, and sectional finalist Millsaps advanced to the #6 slot; for both teams, this is their first-ever Top 10 ranking. #15 Coast Guard also reached a sectional final, while #23 Ohio Wesleyan and #24 St. Mary’s (MD) each knocked off Top 10 teams while reaching the Sweet Sixteen. Each of these teams was rewarded with their first-ever placement in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll. Finally, Elms fell one point short of the third round, and for the first time received votes in a Top 25 poll. Congratulations to the Bears (x2), Majors, Bishops, Seahawks, and Blazers!

Streakers:
Women: The men’s team may have won the national title, but the women’s team at Washington U. has long ruled the roost in St. Louis. This week the women received 25 votes, extending their perfect run of 140 consecutive appearances in the poll voting. #20 Rochester extended their voting streak to 40 weeks, and #14 Illinois Wesleyan received votes for the 30th consecutive time, but Lake Forest saw their vote-getting streak terminate at 29 weeks. Ninth-ranked Mary Washington is a Top 10 team for the 20th straight week. Southern Maine came up three places shy of a Top 25 ranking, snapping the longest current ranking streak at 92 weeks. The new holder of the longest current ranking streak is #3 Messiah, which reached 90 straight weeks in this poll. #5 DePauw has been ranked in each of the last 70 polls, the second longest currently active streak.
Men: Fourth-ranked Brandeis has now made 30 consecutive appearances in the voting rolls.

Milestones:
Women: Second-ranked Hope is in the Top 25 for the 110th time. Vote-getting milestones were achieved by Washington U. (140 weeks), Southern Maine (130), #20 Rochester (90), Eastern Connecticut and St. Lawrence (75 weeks each), and #4 UW-Whitewater and #25 St. Norbert (25 weeks each.)
Men: #11 Wheaton (IL) appears in the voting for the 100th time this week. Other teams reaching significant voting milestones include #2 Amherst (120 polls), Trinity (CT) (75), #4 Brandeis (30), #6 Millsaps and #17 Mary Hardin-Baylor (25 each.) #20 Mass.-Dartmouth is ranked for the 20th time, while #9 Centre is a Top 25 team for the 10th time.

High-Water Marks:
Women: The two debutantes, #1 Howard Payne and #6 Oglethorpe, top this list, accompanied by NESCAC rivals #12 Tufts and #13 Amherst.
Men: This list is the same as the list of debutants: #6 Millsaps, #7 Ursinus, #15 Coast Guard, #23 Ohio Wesleyan, and #24 St. Mary’s (MD).

Movers and Shakers:
Women: The largest gain, by a wide margin, was recorded by Final Four participant #6 Oglethorpe. The Stormy Petrels gained a staggering 432 points and leapt 18 spots in the final poll. Four other teams made gains exceeding 130 points: #20 Rochester (+151), #12 Tufts (+146), #4 UW-Whitewater (+140), and #16 George Fox (+133). #22 UW-Stevens Point lost in the first round (to #25 St. Norbert), costing the Pointers 221 points and nine positions in the final poll. Other significant drops were sustained by #8 Thomas More (-187), Southern Maine (-167), and #21 Medaille (-165).
Men: #11 Wheaton (IL) reached a sectional final, gaining 317 points and a berth in the Top 25 as a result. National champion Washington U. dispatched six teams ranked in the final poll, and gained 273 points and 10 positions as well as a nice big trophy. Two Cinderella Sweet Sixteen teams which had no votes in the Week 14 poll jumped into the top 15: #14 Buena Vista (+253) and #15 Coast Guard (+239). UW-Whitewater was upset by Loras in the first round, shedding 194 points and causing the Warhawks to drop from #2 to #8. #20 Mass.-Dartmouth failed to reach the Sweet Sixteen despite receiving a bye; the Corsairs lost 183 points and 10 spots in the final poll.

Best wishes to everyone for a happy and healthy offseason!