The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- October 12, 1998

Division II -- Notes

Facilities: Mercyhurst College played its first football game on its newly installed artificial surface when it faced Michigan Technological University September 12.

Conferences: Mars Hill College has been accepted as the seventh member of the Deep South Lacrosse Conference. The conference was formed in the summer of 1997. Other members include Catawba College, Lees-McRae College, Limestone College, Pfeiffer University, St. Andrews College and Wingate University. Mars Hill, which fields its first NCAA-level squad this season, will be eligible for the conference championship effective immediately.

Milestone: John Barrientos, St. Joseph's College (Indiana), 200 victories in women's tennis. Barrientos has led the program since 1980.

Etc.: The Eastern New Mexico University athletics department teamed with civic leaders in Portales and Clovis, New Mexico, to accomplish the school's first football sellout. A total of 6,127 fans saw Eastern New Mexico defeat Southeastern Oklahoma, 30-13, September 26 ... The Women's Basketball Coaches Association recently announced the top 25 academic teams in Division II women's basketball. The top five in the ranking, based on overall team grade-point average, were Regis University (Colorado), 3.656; Washburn University of Topeka, 3.541; Mesa State College, 3.531; the University of Minnesota, Morris, 3.524; and the University of Nebraska at Kearney, 3.439.

-- Compiled by David Pickle