“Dropped out: No. 21 Bowdoin, No. 23 Scranton”

That’s right–you can search the women’s Top 25 high and low, and you won’t find any Polar Bears or Royals until you reach the “others receiving votes” category. The last time there was a women’s Top 25 with neither Bowdoin nor Scranton in it was the final week of the regular season in 2001, a time when most of the current players at these traditional powers were still in junior high school or below. Scranton, which had dropped from the Top 25 the week before, had just completed a strong 20-5 season with a disappointing loss to De Sales in the Freedom Conf. tournament. The Royals would re-enter the poll in the preseason the following year, and (after a one-week hiatus), stay for 93 consecutive weeks. The Polar Bears captured their first NESCAC title and made their then-deepest run in the NCAA tournament, losing to second-ranked NYU in the sectionals by a mere 4 points. Bowdoin jumped into the final 2001 poll at #19, and has been there for the past 96 consecutive polls.

Until this week, that is.

Bowdoin, ranked 11th in the preseason poll, is off to a disappointing 3-3 start, losing twice this past week (at #9 Southern Maine and at home to Emmanuel). Scranton had somewhat lower expectations, opening at #25 in the preseason, and fell out of the poll after losing at fourth-ranked Messiah. Scranton is better-positioned to regain their Top 25 status, with 52 points (equivalent ranking of #30) vs. a mere 11 points for Bowdoin. Any more trouble for the Bears and their 97-week string of receiving votes may be at risk. Scranton has never failed to receive votes in a D3Hoops.com women’s poll (a record they share with the #18 Washington U. women and the #25 Wooster men, two other storied programs off to rocky starts this season), but has a difficult week ahead with three games in five days, including a date with a 3-1 Hamilton squad.

Debutantes:
Women: None this week.
Men: One voter decided to add Emerson college to the bottom of his ballot this week, the very first vote that Lions have received in the Top 25 poll. Congratulations!

Streakers:
Women: As noted above, Bowdoin and Scranton were unable to extend their Top 25 streaks beyond 96 and 93 weeks, respectively. The same cannot be said for #9 Southern Maine and #10 McMurry, which extended their Top 25 streaks to 80 and 30 weeks, respectively. #21 Cortland St. received votes for the 10th consecutive week.
Men: Top-ranked Amherst is enjoying their 25th straight week in the men’s Top 10, while further south, #9 Virginia Wesleyan celebrates their 25th consecutive Top 25 appearance. There is no joy in Springfield, O., however, as Wittenberg’s 56-week voting streak has come to an end. Mississippi College dropped off the bottom of the poll this week, snapping their 27-week string of Top 25 appearances.

Milestones:
Women: Twenty-first ranked Cortland St. appears on the list of vote-getters for the 50th time this week. Other milestones in the “receiving votes” category were reached by #4 Messiah (110 weeks), #14 Lake Forest (60), Salem St. (60), #2 Howard Payne (40), and William Smith (30.)
Men: Albion is among the vote-getters for the 50th time, while Mississippi College has received votes for the 75th time. #1 Amherst is in the Top 10 for the 70th time, and #19 Brockport St. is ranked for the 20th time.

High-Water Marks:
Women: Seventh-ranked UW-Whitewater, #11 Thomas More, and #19 Carroll each reached a new all-time high D3Hoops.com ranking this week. Programs tying their all-time high include #2 Howard Payne, #5 Kean, and #14 Lake Forest.
Men: New all-time high rankings were achieved this week by #3 Brandeis, #5 Mary Hardin-Baylor, #16 Keene St., and #17 Stevens.

Movers and Shakers:
Women: The principal movement in the women’s poll was downward, led by #23 Calvin and #18 Washington U. Calvin fell 323 points and 17 poll places after being swept in the MIAA/CCIW Challenge; Wash U. was knocked off by new #22 Capital and dropped 9 spots and 169 points. The best gains were made by Capital (+101) and #11 Thomas More (+119 points and 6 slots.)
Men: #6 UW-Whitewater knocked off then-#2 UW-Stevens Point and consequently leaped 212 points and 14 places in the poll. #25 Wooster and #10 Augustana each lost 155 points, falling eleven and six places, respectively.