Division III Men's Golf Championships

Dates and sites: Redlands will host the finals May 10-13 at the PGA of Southern California Golf Club in Calimesa, California.

Field: The finals include 120 participants.

2003 team champion: Averett.

2003 medalist: Janne Mommo, Averett.

Top team contenders: Methodist, Gustavus Adolphus, St. John's (Minnesota), Ohio Wesleyan and Guilford comprise the top five in the most recent Golf Coaches Association of America/Precept poll.

Championships notes: Methodist won nine of 10 team titles in the 1990s but hasn't capturd one since 1999. But the top-ranked Monarchs return Adam Horton, Michael Townsend and James Stewart from last year's fifth-place squad ... Oglethorpe won the Camp LeJune Intercollegiate at Jacksonville, North Carolina, a tournament in which Methodist placed fourth. Barton, Rhodes and Emory were the other top-five finishers ... Senior Chad Poling won medalist honors in a playoff to lead Ohio Wesleyan to the team title at Denison's Ted Barclay Invitational. Ohio Wesleyan won the tournament with consecutive rounds of 300 ... Gustavus Adolphus is ranked first in a poll administered by Golfstat. The Gusties return Neil Johnson and Luke Benoit from a team that tied for sixth at last year's championships.

Division III Women's Golf Championships

Dates and sites: The Midwest Conference will host the finals May 11-14 at the Golf Courses of Lawsonia in Green Lake, Wisconsin.

Field: Sixty golfers will compete in the finals.

2003 team champion: Methodist.

2003 medalist: Stefanie Simmerman, Saint Mary's (Indiana).

Top team contenders: DePauw, Methodist, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Wisconsin-Eau Claire, St. Mary's (Indiana), Gustavus Adolphus, Simpson, Hardin-Simmons and Hope were ranked in the top 10 in the latest National Golf Coaches Association poll.

Championships notes: DePauw and Methodist went head to head at the Golden Isles Collegiate Invitational in March, with DePauw winning the event by 12 shots over the Monarchs. Rhodes finished third. DePauw's Jessica Schneider was the tournament medalist. Methodist's Charlotte Williams finished second, and Heather Martin and Melissa Arnett posted top-10 finishes ... Stefanie Simmerman returns for Saint Mary's (Indiana). The junior leads the Belles with an 82.5 scoring average ... Mary Hardin-Baylor took third place in the Northwood University Invitational behind Redlands and host Northwood. Julie Solomon and Karen Hudson paced the Lady Crusaders, who finished second in last year's nationals.

Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship

Dates and sites: First-round games are May 5 and regionals are May 8-9, all on the campus of participating schools. The semifinals and final are May 15-16 at St. John Fisher.

Field: There are 19 teams that take part in the single-elimination tournament. Thirteen berths are allocated to automatic qualifiers. Four are reserved for true independents and those teams that are members of conferences that do not meet the criteria for automatic qualification. The remaining two berths are provided for teams remaining from automatic-qualifying conferences who do not win their conference's automatic berth.

Selection date: May 2.

2003 champion: Amherst.

Top contenders: According to the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association poll for the week ending April 4, the top teams are: Middlebury, The College of New Jersey, Amherst, Salisbury, Gettysburg, and Washington and Lee.

Championship notes: Through April 12, Middlebury and The College of New Jersey both remained undefeated. Middlebury last won the championship in 2002 and had previous wins in 2001, 1999 and 1997. The College of New Jersey won in 2000, 1998, 1991-96, 1987-88 and 1985 ... Middlebury, The College of New Jersey, Ursinus and Amherst are the only teams to win the championship, which was first held in 1985. The only other schools to also place in the top two are William Smith and St. Lawrence.

Division III Softball Championship

Dates and sites: Preliminary-round competitions will be May 7-10 on the campuses of participating teams. The finals will be May 14-18 in Salem, Virginia.

Field: The championship field provides for 44 teams. Five teams will compete at four first-round sites and six teams will play at four sites in a double-elimination format. Eight teams will advance to the double-elimination final.

Selection date: May 2.

2003 champion: Central (Iowa).

Top contenders: The top five teams in a recent National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll were Moravian, East Texas Baptist, Washington (Missouri), Alma and Salisbury.

Championship notes: East Texas Baptist is gunning for its third straight tournament berth after making its first tournament appearance in 2002. The Tigers' only loss this season came at the hands of top-ranked Moravian last month. Washington (Missouri) also is seeking its third consecutive tournament appearance after earning its first bid two years ago. The Bears suffered their first defeat earlier in this month after opening the season with 22 straight victories ... Moravian, at 21-1 has posted more than 20 wins in each of the last 10 seasons. This year, the Greyhound attack is lead by 13 returning letter-winners, including junior shortstop Heather Bortz, who has kept an NCAA Division III record 39-game hitting streak going through mid-April.

Division III Men's Tennis Championships

Dates and sites: First and second rounds are May 1-2 on the campus of a participant. The finals are May 12-17 at Bates. Quarterfinals, semifinals and finals of team championships take place May 12-14. Singles and doubles championships are May 15-17.

Field: The team championship consists of 27 teams. Individual championships consist of 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams. Selection is based on a variety of in-region criteria. Seven teams will be selected from the Northeast and Atlantic South regions, eight teams from the Central region and five teams from the West region. Eight singles players and four doubles teams from each of the four regions will be selected. A maximum of 202 participants are selected for the championships.

Selection date: April 26.

2003 champions: Emory won the team event. The singles winner was Eric Butorac of Gustavus Adolphus. The doubles winners were Butorac and Kevin Whipple.

Top team contenders: According to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's latest poll, the top teams are Emory, Claremont Mudd-Scripps, UC Santa Cruz, Redlands, Middlebury and Gustavus Adolphus.

Championships notes: Emory won last year's event after placing second to Williams in 2002. Williams was runner-up to Emory in the 2003 championships. It was Emory's first championship title ... The Emory women also won last year's team title. It marked the fourth consecutive year that the team title has been won by the same school for both men and women ... The Division III Men's Tennis Championships dates back to 1976. Kalamazoo won the inaugural event and went on to win the team title on six more occasions.

Division III Women's Tennis Championships

Dates and sites: First and second rounds are May 1-2 on the campus of a participant. The finals are May 12-17 at Rhodes. Quarterfinals, semifinals and finals of team championships are May 12-14. Singles and double championships are May 15-17.

Field: The team championship consists of 26 teams and the individual championship includes 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams. Selection is based on a variety of in-region criteria. Seven teams from the Northeast, Central and Atlantic South regions are chosen, as well as five teams from the West region. Four singles players and two doubles teams will be selected from each of the four regions. The remaining spots will be selected at-large. A maximum of 222 participants are selected for the championships.

Selection date: April 26.

2003 champions: Emory won the team championship. Mary Ellen Gordon of Emory won the singles title. Gordon and Jolyn Taylor won the doubles title.

Top team contenders: According to the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll, the following teams are ranked in the top three in their region: Northeast -- Williams, Amherst, Tufts; Atlantic South -- Emory, Washington and Lee, Rhodes; Central -- Gustavus Adolphus, Denison, Washington (Missouri); West -- Hardin Simmons, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Trinity (Texas).

Championships notes: Emory cleaned up at last year's championships, winning the team title, as well as singles and doubles titles. The singles finals marked the first time teammates faced each other. The team victory marked Emory's second title. They had previously won in 1996 ... The championships date back to 1982. Occidental won the inaugural event ... UC San Diego, which now competes in Division II, has won this event more than any other school. The Tritons have four team victories: 1985, 1987, 1989 and 1994. Kenyon has three wins, followed by Williams, Emory and Mary Washington with two team titles each.