Division III Men's Basketball Championship

Dates and sites: First-round games are March 4; second-round games are March 6, both on campuses. Sectionals are March 12-13 on campuses. The semifinals (March 19) and championship game (March 20) are at Salem, Virginia.

Field: 48 teams.

Selection date: February 29.

2003 champion: Williams.

Top contenders: Williams, Hampden-Sydney, Hanover, Rochester, Wittenberg.

Championship notes: Williams returns four starters from last year's title team and leads the highly competitive New England Small College Athletic Conference. The Ephs' only loss through mid-February came at rival Amherst, ending a 28-game winning streak, but Williams beat the Lord Jeffs two weeks later in the only matchup between the teams that counts in league standings and also beat highly regarded Trinity (Connecticut) ... Randolph-Macon and 2003 semifinalist Hampden-Sydney are battling for supremacy in the South region and a chance to play for the title in their home state ... Hanover lost December 30 at 2003 semifinalist Wooster but since then has rolled through conference play to establish momentum entering postseason action ... Rochester was the last Division III team to lose a game, falling February 8 at Washington (Missouri).

Division III Women's Basketball Championship

Dates and sites: First-round competition will be March 3 and second-round games will be March 6 on campus. The sectionals will be March 12-13, also at on-campus sites. Semifinal action will be March 19 and the third-place and national-championship games will be March 20 at the Jane P. Batten Center in Norfolk, Virginia.

Field: 50 teams.

Selection date: February 29.

2003 champion: Trinity (Texas).

Top contenders: In a recent D3hoops.com poll, Bowdoin, Southern Maine, Scranton, Trinity (Texas) and Washington (Missouri) rounded out the top five.

Championship notes: Deep into February, Bowdoin maintained a 23-0 record and is shooting for a second consecutive and fifth overall appearance in the NCAA tournament ... Defending national champion Trinity (Texas) has lost only two games by a total of four points this season ... The only blemish on Southern Maine's record is a seven-point defeat to top-ranked Bowdoin in early December ... Scranton has made 18 NCAA tournament appearances, most recently in 2002 and 2003. The Lady Royals began this season by reeling off 14 straight wins ... Washington (Missouri) collected four straight Division III national champions from 1998 to 2001.

Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championship

Dates and sites: First-round games are March 10 and quarterfinals are March 13. The semifinals are March 19, with the championship game on March 20. All games will be played on the campus of a participating institution.

Field: A nine-team format is used. Automatic qualification has been granted to the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, State University of New York Athletic Conference, Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, New England Small College Athletic Conference and Northern Collegiate Hockey Association.

Selection date: March 7.

2003 champion: Norwich.

Top contenders: According to the NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Committee's February 15 poll, the following teams are ranked in the top five in their region: East -- Norwich, Middlebury, Curry, Plattsburgh State and Bowdoin; West -- St. Norbert, St. John's (Minnesota), Wisconsin-River Falls, Lake Forest, St. Thomas (Minnesota).

Championship notes: Norwich is looking to retain its top spot in the polls as it attempts to defend the championship title. The team has come on strong in recent championship history, with wins in 2003 and 2000 and placing runner-up in 2002. Middlebury also will be fighting to regain the title it won for five straight years from 1995 through 1999. Western teams will look to gain some ground as well. The West has won the championships only nine times since the event began in 1984. The last winner from the West was Wisconsin-Superior in 2002.

Division III Women's Ice Hockey Championship

Dates and sites: First-round games will be March 12, 13 or 14 on campus. The semifinals are March 19 and the third-place and national-championship games will be March 20 at an on-campus site.

Field: Seven teams.

Selection date: March 7.

2003 champion: Elmira.

Top contenders: A recent U.S. College Hockey Online poll listed Plattsburgh State, Middlebury, Manhattanville, Elmira and Bowdoin as the top five teams in the nation.

Championship notes: Top-ranked Plattsburgh State weathered a mid-season three-game losing streak that included two losses to No. 2 Middlebury. However, the Cardinals recovered and remained undefeated in conference play through February 21 ... Among Middlebury's 19 wins this season is a key one-goal victory over No. 5 Bowdoin, last year's third-place winner.

Division III Women's Swimming and Diving Championships

Dates and site: The nationals will be at the St. Peter's Rec Plex in St. Peter's, Missouri, March 11-13. Principia College will host the meet.

Field: The maximum number of participants allowed is 232. All qualifiers who have met the "A" time standard will be admitted in the meet; those who have met the "B" standard will be considered for the field. No team is allowed more than 18 competitors.

2003 team champion: Kenyon.

Top team contenders: Denison, Kenyon, Emory, Williams, Wooster.

Championships notes: For the first time in the 20-year history of the North Coast Athletic Conference, the Kenyon Ladies did not win the league title. Denison won just four of the 20 events, but the Big Red had 33 top-five finishes to outdistance the Ladies by 56 points. Kenyon, which won 11 events, was led by senior Beth Galloway's five wins, including a conference-record performance in the 100-yard backstroke. Galloway is the defending national champion in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke. Other Kenyon performers to look for at nationals include Meilyn Chan and Agnese Ozolina ... For Gregg Parini's Denison squad, Jill Boo returns as the defending champion in the 200-yard butterfly, and backstroker Lauren Clark won the 200 at the NCAC meet ... Emory won its sixth consecutive University Athletic Association conference title by 548 points, the largest margin in UAA history. Sophomores Kari Schneibel (backstrokes) and Holly Hinz (400-yard individual medley) were conference champions and swam NCAA qualifying times. Junior Hillary Lane is strong in the freestyle sprints ... Williams won its 16th consecutive league postseason title led by swimmer-of-the-meet Lindsay Payne. The defending national champion in the 100-yard breaststroke owns the fastest times ever recorded in Division III women's swimming in both the 100 (1:03.20) and 200 (2:17.27).

Division III Men's Indoor Track Championships

Dates and site: The championships will be March 12-13 at Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Field: A total of 200 athletes will compete in the championships. Athletes qualify by reaching the automatic and provisional standards established for each event.

Selection date: The spots remaining in the field after the automatic qualifiers are entered will be filled from the descending-order list of provisional qualifiers March 8.

2003 team champion: Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Top team contenders: Wisconsin-La Crosse, Wisconsin-Whitewater, Nebraska Wesleyan, College of New Jersey.

Championships notes: Wisconsin-La Crosse seeks its fourth straight title and 11th overall. The Eagles are led by returning champions Andrew Rock in the 400 and Hans Schmidt in the pole vault ... Host Wisconsin-Whitewater may make a strong run at its first Division III indoor team title. Senior Jeremy Wendt had the best mark in the weight throw through mid-February ... Defending 55-meter champion Bret Blake leads Nebraska Wesleyan's effort to improve on last year's third-place finish ... As many as eight 2003 individual titlists may be competing in Whitewater, including defending champs in every field event except the triple jump.

Division III Women's Indoor Track Championships

Dates and site: The championships will be March 12-13 at Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Field: A total of 200 athletes will compete in the championships. Athletes qualify by reaching the automatic and provisional standards established for each event.

Selection date: The spots remaining in the field after the automatic qualifiers are entered will be filled from the descending-order list of provisional qualifiers March 8.

2003 team champion: Wheaton (Massachusetts).

Top team contenders: Wheaton (Massachusetts), Williams, Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Championships notes: Returning 400-meter champion Amber James leads Wheaton (Massachusetts) in search of a record-tying sixth team title (Christopher Newport claimed six crowns between 1988 and 1998). James owned the fastest qualifying time in the 400 through mid-February ... Williams topped the mid-February power ratings for Division III women and appears to be strongest in distance and field events ... Wisconsin-Oshkosh will challenge for the championship in its home state behind Liz Woodworth, last year's 800-meter champ, who apparently will challenge Wartburg's Missy Buttry in the 1,500 meters ... Perennial challenger Wisconsin-La Crosse also is showing well in recent power ratings.

Division III Wrestling Championships

Dates and site: The championships will be March 5-6 at Five Flags Center in Dubuque, Iowa.

Field: There will be 160 competitors determined through qualifying tournaments.

Qualifying dates: February 22 and 28.

2003 team champion: Wartburg.

Top team contenders: Wartburg, Augsburg, Simpson, Wisconsin-Stevens Point, The College of New Jersey.

Championships notes: Wartburg features two defending individual champions on its roster, but sophomore Dustin Hinschberger may get the nod to represent the team at 141 pounds, replacing one of those titlists, senior Wil Kelly. Bart Mehlert is set to defend his crown at 149 pounds ... Augsburg also brings back two 2003 champions: junior Mark Matzek at 133 pounds and sophomore Marcus LeVesseur at 157. LeVesseur has not lost a match as a collegian, winning 76 in a row through mid-February, and he had collected 10 pins in 19 victories this season. Augsburg, however, has lost two duals against rival Wartburg, which won last year's tournament by a record margin of victory over the Auggies ... Wisconsin-Stevens Point is led by Cody Koenig, who won the 174-pound class last year.