College Power Rankings, Presented By NUTC [April 7, 2023]

April 7, 2023 by Ultiworld in Rankings with 0 comments

Ultiworld’s College Power Rankings, presented by the National Ultimate Training Camp! Registration for 2023 is open! Scholarships available. More info at www.NUTC.net

While our College Power Rankings can always be found on our permanent rankings page, every week during the season we will post the current edition here on the front page to facilitate discussion in the comments and serve as a permalink for each week’s rankings.

Ultiworld Subscribers have access to team-by-team coverage in the Breakdown sections.

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D-I Women’s Power Rankings

D-I Women’s Discussion

• No movement this week.

D-I Men’s Power Rankings

D-I Men’s Discussion

• UMass fell two spots after taking their first losses of the season at Easterns, opening the door for North Carolina, who captured the tournament’s title, to take #1. We are back where we started: with UNC as the favorite.
• SLO and Pittsburgh both reached the semifinals and both moved up a handful of places. SLO landed at #4, their first return to the top five since the close of 2020. Pittsburgh looked the best they have all season and that was enough to earn them a top 10 position.
• Brown enjoyed a similar climb into the top 10, as a finally healthy roster showed they are capable of still being an elite club. They fell to future Easterns finalist Vermont in quarterfinals by just one goal, so hang onto your hats for New England postseason drama.
• The biggest gain of the week went to California, whose zone capabilities predictably shined in Easterns’ gusty conditions. They clutched up big time and the real reward was a likely bid for the Southwest that came in the midnight hour.
• It was quietly a good weekend for NC State’s resume, as they topped both Northeastern and Tufts, which sent them up six spots to #18. That likely offers little consolation for the Atlantic Coast’s final bid allocation.
• Wisconsin passed the eye test more than the on-paper resume might state, while UNC Wilmington and UNC Charlotte also found their way in to flex the depth of the Atlantic Coast. They take positions after Michigan fumbled their way through Easterns and both OSU’s — Oregon State and Ohio State — fell to the fringes.

D-III Women’s Power Rankings

D-III Women’s Discussion

• A 6-1 showing at Illinois Invite powered a four-spot rise for St. Olaf to #5, marking them as a potential contender, especially after they played Middlebury close at Needle In a Ho Stack.
• Mount Holyoke had their best weekend yet at Shady Encounters, losing a single game, and even that was by one goal and to a respectable D-I squad, Penn State. That helped them jump up six spots. Conversely, at the same event, Lehigh both beat Penn State and lost to Vermont-B and Rutgers. Make of that what you will; we made it a six-spot slide to #16.
• Bates reached the final of Northeast Classic, going undefeated until playing Brown, a team contending for a D-I Nationals spot. That run included wins over Haverford and Bryn Mawr, MIT, and UConn, and earned them #12.
• Berry and Brandeis both returned to the rankings, with Brandeis’ resume looking stronger than before thanks to secondary results. Meanwhile, Seattle fell off the backend and SUNY Geneseo went winless at Northeast Classic to get the boot.

D-III Men’s Power Rankings

D-III Men’s Discussion

• A 10-8 Navy win over Richmond at Atlantic Coast Open tells the simple tale of the Spidermonkeys’ stumble from #3 to #5.
• Bowdoin got in their first full tournament, but didn’t take any more losses, finishing their season a clean 9-0. That popped them up five spots #6.
• A competitive matchup with D-I Nationals hopeful Oregon State and wins over Gonzaga and Washington State made Northwest Challenge a successful venture for Whitman, earning #8 this week.
• Truman State’s strong showing at King of Hill pushed them up six spots, though they ultimately split with Michigan Tech. The win for DiscoTech also got them a lower position at #21.
• Claremont and Colorado Mines made their way in at #19 and #20 respectively, with good records against mediocre competition. Wins are wins, though, and you can’t always control who you play, just how you play.
• The bottom three squads last week, Messiah, Ithaca, and Carthage had their time in the top 25 cut short to make new room, though Messiah did get thumped by Penn State B, too.

Ultiworld Subscribers, see below for a haiku for each D-I ranked team and notes on each D-III ranked team.