Our first official look at possible bid allocations!
April 6, 2016 by Charlie Eisenhood in News with 2 comments
The first draft of the end-of-season college rankings that will determine the bid allocation for Regionals and Nationals was posted last night by USA Ultimate. Teams have until 11:59 PM Mountain Time tonight to submit corrections to scores or sort out eligibility issues. There is a Google Doc with the omitted games for both divisions.
Here’s a look at the rankings.
Men’s Division I
Implied Bid Allocation
AC: 2 bids
GL: 1 bid
ME: 1 bid
NC: 3 bids
NE: 2 bids
NW: 4 bids
OV: 2 bids
SC: 2 bids
SE: 2 bids
SW: 1 bid
Discussion
Little changes from our discussion of the approximated rankings. There have been some changes within the top 19, but none that will have an impact on bids. It’s worth noting that UNC’s games from the Tally Classic are currently not being included, which floated them to #4 in this edition of the rankings.
Ohio State remains the last in with Florida State sitting on the bubble. Of course, score changes and corrections could still cause fluctuations that will alter the finalized rankings, so it’s early still to cheer if you’re an Ohio Valley fan. It is certainly quite a mathematical journey for Ohio State to #19 — they do not have a win over a team ranked in the Ultiworld Top 25. But some big wins over Cincinnati — whose ranking soared thanks to a big early season win over BYU — and a pair of victories over Colorado State was enough to boost them past teams with more impressive resumes like Florida State, Virginia Tech, and Michigan.
Women’s Division I
Implied Bid Allocation
AC: 1 bid
GL: 1 bid
ME: 1 bid
NC: 1 bid
NE: 1 bid
NW: 5 bids
OV: 2 bids
SC: 3 bids
SE: 1 bid
SW: 4 bids
Discussion
Three Northwest teams sit atop the end-of-season rankings after dominant regular seasons as the region is sure to haul in five bids. Nothing has changed in the last couple of weeks in the Women’s rankings, and it looks unlikely — barring some major last minute changes — that we will see any changes. Wisconsin, the bubble team, would have to overcome Northeastern and Colorado College, as Northeastern is the top 20’s only New England team (giving them an autobid), if they want to land a second bid for the North Central. Unlikely.
Nine of the 10 strength bids gravitated to western regions (four for the NW, three for the SW, and two for the SC) after outstanding performances from California, Oregon, Washington, and BC teams, and lackluster years from eastern teams like Dartmouth, Tufts, Georgia, and others.
Men’s Division III
Implied Bid Allocation
AC: 3 bids
GL: 2 bids
ME: 1 bid
NC: 1 bid
NE: 2 bids
NW: 1 bid
OV: 1 bid
SC: 3 bids
SE: 1 bid
SW: 1 bid
Discussion
The most important note from these rankings: Indiana Wesleyan, a Great Lakes team, is excluded for not having at least 10 games on their record, because results from two of their tournaments (DIII MW Invite and T-Town Throwdown) are currently tossed out. This could well change, but we’ve seen in the past that teams lose results from tournaments based on roster issues. They will be ranked in the top five if those results are reinstated, giving the Great Lakes a third bid and depriving the Atlantic Coast of their third bid.
There will be some very tough Regionals. The Northwest — featuring Lewis & Clark, Portland, Puget Sound, Whitworth, and PLU — should be tremendous as they fight over a single bid. New England with a pair of bids is tough. The Ohio Valley with just one bid is brutal. Such is a 16 team Nationals format!
Women’s Division III
Implied Bid Allocation
AC: 1 bid
GL: 1 bid
ME: 1 bid
NC: 3 bids
NE: 4 bids
NW: 1 bid
OV: 1 bid
SC: 2 bids
SE: 1 bid
SW: 1 bid
Discussion
A big, four bid haul from New England stands out amongst a lot of one bid regions in DIII Women’s. A deep and talented North Central may feel underwhelmed by getting only three bids, with St. Benedict and Grinnell (ranked #11 in the Ultiworld Power Rankings last week) missing out on bids.
The Ohio Valley has to feel even more pain, with four teams sitting in the Ultiworld Top 25 (Haverford, Lehigh, Messiah, and Swarthmore) but only one bid to show for it.
