I guess that, when you consider how things have gone for the MIAC in recent years when it comes to Selection Monday for the NCAA Womens DIII Tournament, there is reason to feel good this afternoon. As expected, both UST AND Concordia got in although you can bet there was a lot of pacing back and forth across the room in Moorhead when lunchtime arrived and a lot of coaches, players and parents up that way that were sweating bullets - and heaved a giant sigh of relief when they saw the brackets revealed. So definitely there is reason to celebrate on both the UST and Concordia campuses tonight and I'm pleased that both of these teams got in.
At the same time, though, I can't help but feel badly for the SMU team and coaches down in Winona this afternoon. They made a giant leap this season in recording a 22-5 overall record (18-4 in MIAC play) and finished tied for second in the regular season with eventual MIAC Playoff Champion UST. Ultimately, however, despite their gaudy 22 wins, their overall body of work killed their chances as they only recorded one win over a regionally ranked team. I also wonder as well if that Sunday loss at home to Concordia back on February 3rd (a day after they beat Carleton at home) might have been the real killer. Had they won that I think it would have been impossible for them not to be ranked in the West Region. Even so, with 22 wins under their belt, that SHOULD have been good enough to have garnered more serious consideration by the NCAA Selection Committee. Moreover, it only underscores how incredibly broken and outdated the MIAC's round-robin regular season scheduling truly is. Consider this for a second: This is the first time since 2009 that the MIAC has been able to get more than one team into the Big Dance. That's saying something when you see the WIAC seemingly regularly getting three or even four teams in or the IIAC getting two teams in or even that one year when the UMAC incredibly got two teams in. As it is right now, MIAC teams can only play three (yes, that's right), THREE non-conference games. That's just not going to cut it when it comes to trying to garner national attention unless you've been incredibly fortunate as UST has been lately. Yes, I'm aware of the new system set to go in place beginning with the 2014-15 season that will FINALLY allow teams in the conference the opportunity to schedule more non-conference games. This was accomplished by the MIAC coaches who are among the brightest and the best in the nation coming through with a hard sell to the conference AD's to make this a reality. But even there I have to ask if this is enough. When I look at how teams that were left out in recent years (CSB and GAC in '10, UST in '11, and then GAC last year) I have to wonder sometimes if the damage hasn't already been done and if it may take the conference years to catch up with their neighbors to the east and south. In the end, though, you have to feel badly for the SMU seniors who are the real victims of all this - Jamie Stefely, Jessica Thone, Courtney Athnos and Brittany Begrowicz who must all be incredibly heartbroken tonight knowing now that they won't get a chance to show what they could do.
But let's try and look at the bright side here for a moment if we can. The MIAC has two teams in and I think both have a shot to do damage if they play their cards right. Sometime before Friday's games, I'll try and give a synopsis of what both UST and Concordia have to do to advance in this thing.
GO TOMMIES AND GO COBBERS! Do the MIAC proud!
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