Emory Plays for National Championship Monday

The Emory University volleyball team will play for the NCAA Division III championship on Monday after beating Washington University 3-1 (18-25, 29-27, 25-21, 25-20) on Saturday.

Emory lost to Wash U in five sets on Oct. 16 and beat the Bears in four sets in November for the University Athletic Association title.

Emory plays Calvin College at 3 p.m. ET for the national title. Washington won the national championship last year, and Emory won in 2008.

Check the Emory Athletics website for live video and statistics.

Soccer: The Emory women were the only other UAA school still alive for a national title this weekend, but they lost to Hardin-Simmons 2-1 on Saturday on Hardin-Simmons home field. The Eagles ended the season 16-2-4. No. 2-ranked Hardin-Simmons is undefeated. Match story.

Men's cross country: All five UAA men's teams finished in the top 20 in the Division III championship meet on Saturday: 9. Washington; 10. NYU; 16. Brandeis; 17. Rochester; 20. Carnegie Mellon.

The top five UAA finishers were:
23. James Vavra, Jr 24:50.1, Rochester
24. Michael Burnstein, Jr 24:51.8, Washington
29. Andrew Zitek, Jr 24:57.9, NYU
30. Sebastian Schwelm, Sr 24:59.4, NYU
45. David Hamm, So 25:11.9, Washington


Women's cross country: Washington University finished second in the championship meet, eight points behind winner Middlebury. 2. Washington; 10. Chicago; 18. Case Western Reserve; 26. Emory; 28. NYU.


The top five UAA finishers were:
4. Elizabeth Lawton, Sr 21:22.0, Chicago
6. Taryn Surtees, Sr 21:26.1, Washington
8. Justine Jeroski, Sr 21:28.6, Case Western Reserve
23. Elizabeth Phillips, Jr 21:49.1 , Washington
30. Jessica Londeree, Sr 21:58.2, Washington

Complete results.

The Polls: Where UAA Schools Stand

Leia and Claire on Freedom Park in Atlanta this morning. Ready to roll.

As the UAA soccer teams head into the final weekend of double travel games (Friday and Sunday matches), here are the latest national rankings. Plus rankings in cross country and volleyball.
Rochester travels to Emory and Carnegie Mellon; Case Western Reserve travels to Carnegie Mellon and Emory; Brandeis travels to Wash U and Chicago; NYU travels to Chicago and Wash U; Honey travels to Emory and Chicago, God willing and the tires don't blow.
The NCAA's Division 3 includes more than 450 college and universities competing in varsity athletics.
 The UAA cross country championship meet is Saturday, Oct. 30, in New York City at Van Cortlandt Park. Take the 1 train to the Bronx. It's the last stop.
 The UAA volleyball championship tournament is Nov. 5-6 at the Veale Center at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Take the RTA Healthline bus east on Euclid Avenue to Adelbert Road, across from Severance Hall. If the driver calls out "next stop Erie," you've gone about 100 miles too far.

Best National Universities - U.S. News & World Report , Sept. 2010
9. University of Chicago
13. Washington University
20. Emory University
23. Carnegie Mellon University
33. New York University
34. Brandeis University
37. University of Rochester
41. Case Western Reserve University
86. University of Colorado (OK, CU isn't in the UAA, but it's where I matriculated. Twice)

Football - AFCA
23. Case Western Reserve (unranked)

Men's Cross Country - USFCCCA - Programs: 389
These are the Oct. 20 rankings. The next national poll comes out Nov. 3.
7. New York University
9. Washington University
24. Carnegie Mellon 25. Brandeis
29. Rochester
30. Case Western Reserve
Women's Cross Country - USFCCCA - Programs: 4117. University of Chicago
15. Case Western Reserve
16. Washington University
26. Emory 35. NYU

Volleyball - AVCA - Programs: 429
1. Washington University (2)
2. Emory University (4)
15. NYU (17)
21. University of Chicago (20)

Women's soccer - NSCAA - Programs: 427
6. Emory University (8)
22. Rochester (24)
Brandeis and Chicago also received votes


Men's soccer - NSCAA - Programs: 406
7. Rochester (21)
12. Washington University (15)
14. Emory University  (18)
Carnegie Mellon and NYU also received votes

Information on the number of D3 programs in each sport was provided by Anthony Moscaret, sports information director for the University Athletic Association.

Honey is in the shop
Sunday night, the refrigerator in Honey, my RV, fell out of its cabinet. Too much shaking, rattling and rolling across Manhattan, the GW bridge and the New Jersey Turnpike.
I have her in the shop today, Great Escape RV of Tucker, Ga., where my friend Richard is going to brace her foundation so she'll be ready to roll Friday night for Chicago after the Emory-Rochester men's game in Atlanta.

Something old, something new

Stuff I don't need. Not shown: Microwave oven.

One thing I learned on the first 2,600 miles of my trip to visit every UAA school is that you don't really need that much stuff when you travel in an RV.
Most of it will get lost or go unused or both.
I am off-loading a microwave, hand weights, blue blazer, some clothes, personal file folders and a huge roll of bubble wrap (don't ask).
However, I am picking up 110 pounds of canine. Lisa, the kindly neighbor lady who was taking care of my dogs, says she will miss them these next two weeks but that they need to be with me on the road. Should be interesting.

New Polls Are Out, I Am Old

D3 polls are always released on Tuesdays, so here's a roundup of where UAA teams rank.

Do athletes, coaches and administrators pay attention to polls? Heck yes.
As one coach told me, if you want to compete for a national championship, the first step is competing for a UAA championship. Trust me, if I get a ranking wrong I will hear about it -- and correct it.
For those of you involved in UAA sports, these listings aren't news, because most of you called them up on the InterWeb the second they came out. For those of you who are just gaining awareness of the University Athletic Association, they show how these programs compete nationally.
About 450 colleges and universities belong to the NCAA's Division 3.

Honey in Jersey City.

Men's Cross Country - USFCCA

2. Washington University (2)
9. NYU (11)
13. Carnegie Mellon (14)
26. Case Western Reserve (27)
29. Rochester (28)
32. Brandeis (9)
Women's Cross Country - USFCCA
4. Washington University (4)
15. University of Chicago (14)
23. Case Western Reserve (23)
30. NYU (27)
34. Emory (34)


Volleyball - AVCA
1. Washington University (1)
2. Emory University (3)
15. University of Chicago (17)
23. NYU (23)


Women's soccer - NSCAA
15. Emory University (13)
23. Brandeis (15)
24. Chicago (Unranked)
25. Rochester (Unranked)

Men's soccer - NSCAA
9. Emory University  (9)
10. Washington University (11)
20. Rochester (15)
21. Carnegie Mellon (11)

About this blog: I am traveling around the country to attend soccer games at every school in the University Athletic Association, thus the random photo of my RV, Honey, parked at the Liberty Harbor Marina and RV Park in Jersey City earlier this month.
Today, Oct. 13, I am at the University of Rochester.