Dates and sites: First-round competition in the South region will be May 12 at UMBC and May 13 at Army for the North. Quarterfinals are May 19 at Hofstra (North) and May 20 at Maryland (South). The semifinals and final will be May 26 and 28 at Rutgers.

Selection date: May 6.

2000 champion: Syracuse.

Players to watch: Conor Denihan, Johns Hopkins; Mike Springer, John Glatzel and Rob Mulligan, Syracuse; Ryan Mollett and Trevor Tierney, Princeton; Andy Combs, Maryland; Conor Gill and Mark Koontz, Virginia.

Dates and sites: The semifinals are May 20 on campus; final is May 27 at Rutgers.

Field: The championship is a four-team single-elimination tournament. Two teams are selected from each of the two geographic regions, Northeast and Southwest.

Selection date: May 6.

2000 champion: Limestone.

Top team contenders: Adelphi, C.W. Post, Le Moyne, Limestone, New York Tech, Pace.

Players to watch: Brian Tower and Brian Soper, Adelphi; R.J. Degenfelder, C.W. Post; John Buchanan, New York Tech; Nick Carlson, Limestone.

Dates and sites: First-round games are May 9 on campus; quarterfinals are May 13 on campus; and semifinals are May 20 on campus. The final will be May 27 at Rutgers.

Field: The 14-team field consists of three selection pools. First, 10 berths (Pool A) will be allocated to automatic-qualifying conferences. Second, four berths (Pool B) will be reserved for true independents and those teams that are members of conferences that do not qualify for automatic qualification. No berth (Pool C) will be provided for a team remaining from automatic-qualifying conferences that did not win its automatic berth.

Selection date: May 6.

2000 champion: Middlebury.

Top team contenders: Gettysburg, Middlebury, Nazareth, Salisbury State, Washington (Maryland), Washington and Lee.

Players to watch: Josh Bergey and Dave DiPaola, Salisbury State; Pete Millman, Gettysburg; Nick Nylund, Washington (Maryland); Eric Goodberlet, Nazareth; Holt Hopkins, Middlebury; Matt Dugan and Wes Hays, Washington and Lee.

The last decade has seen parity at the top of Division III, with Salisbury State and Nazareth winning three championships apiece, Hobart (which moved to Division I in 1995) two and Washington (Maryland) and Middlebury one.