The Reverb: Erin Go Brah

by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Since I started working for the MCLA back in 2016, St. Patrick’s Day has become the unofficial start of the stretch run of the season for me.

As a dual Irish-American citizen, March 17 is always a time for celebration, although we Irish can usually find an excuse to celebrate anything, even funerals. In addition, since I typically give up alcohol for Lent, the Monsignor of our parish (St. Patrick’s) allows for a day of dispensation on this high holiday, which I plan on honoring. I feel little to no guilt, especially after spending the last two days in Milwaukee at an endless volleyball tournament.

Today also marks the time when the non-conference schedule starts to winds down and programs commence jockeying for conference tournament position. It’s not a universal fact as we still have a solid week or so of crossovers, but it’s finishing up.

We’ve already projected how things will shape up in the conference races, so we don’t need to rehash that. But for those teams that are in the mix – especially those that might be new to the process – St. Patrick’s Day marks a day to begin preparation for Round Rock. That goes for the mortal locks all the way to the bubble teams, because there are always moving pieces until everyone accepts their bids.

Every year I try to use this space to remind all of the teams dreaming of Round Rock to get their ducks lined up now. The last thing a team wants to have happen is late April roll around before realizing you’re missing something important.

Accommodations? Transportation? Is your roster correct? Will it pass all of the certifications? Does your rec department know you are planning on making the trip? Have you talked to professors about taking tests early/remotely if there are conflicts? Who will proctor the exams? Can your seniors still walk at graduation and make the games? Do you need to make one last donor push to cover costs? Do all of your players like Texas BBQ?

A majority of the teams that will be among the 32 squads in Round Rock can do tourney prep in their sleep, but it’s always good to double-check everything as travel and reservations ain’t what they used to be. For the postseason rookies, take the time to reach out to tournament-savvy programs in your league to make sure everything is copacetic. Use your conference director or member of the board for advice. We are all invested in making things run smoothly for all of the student-athletes.

The conference tournaments and Round Rock seem like a lifetime away, but they will be on us before you know it. Don’t be the team that misses out because of something hugely avoidable.

Now someone pour me a green beer.

My Top Fives

Division I

1. Cal Poly (8-0) – Better than BYU? Maybe. Definitely have a better schedule so far.
2. BYU (8-0) – One ranked win. Mustangs have two. Don't blame me. Blame math.
3. Liberty (6-1) – Six straight for Flames. Running the table is well within reason.
4. Florida State (7-2) – A lot of weird comparative scores make this a tough choice.
5. Northeastern (6-1) – Don’t like the way the Liberty loss went down, but the Pups sneak in.

Division II

1. UC San Diego (7-0) – San Diego usually shuts down in the rain. Tritons like water, though.
2. Florida Atlantic (7-1) – Destroyed a good FGCU squad. Two really good tests this weekend.
3. Northwest Nazarene (6-2) – Nighthawks get a breezy weekend in Reno to work on their tans.
4. St. Thomas (5-1) – Three-week staycation as the Tommies prep to host Dayton/GVSU.
5. UNC-Charlotte (5-0) – 49ers haven’t played in nearly a month. They better be sharp in Bama.

Slides & Rides

- Just when you think you know a team. Air Force, the consensus No. 1 D-II team in the land traveled to SoCal and went 0-2 against No. 2 UC San Diego and No. 11 Cal State San Marcos. The way the Falcons were playing heading into the weekend, taking the collar did not seem plausible. Getting shutdown by the Tritons stingy defense was certainly a possibility, but getting worked by the Cougars is a stunner.

And if we’re going to take anything from the weekend, it’s probably the development of San Marcos. The Cougars weren’t ready for the Rocky Mountain Rumble when they got doubled up by Utah State and were never really in the mix with Montana State. Clearly, San Marcos has hit its stride. We kind of got a taste when the Cougs beat a ranked D-I TCU outfit, but the Air Force win confirms it.

- James Madison knocking off Pitt essentially slots the Dukes as at least the No. 2 seed in the ALC North. A win over Kentucky at the end of the month will formalize the deal. Obviously, a win at Liberty and it’s bye city…the weekend held a lot of promise for Simon Fraser, especially when the Red Leafs rallied to beat No. 16 Colorado, 12-11, on Saturday. Alas, SFU no-showed against Colorado State on Sunday as the Rams doubled up the Leafs, 20-10. The PNCLL is still an AQ-only league…big bounce-back win for Utah Valley against SDSU. The Wolverines are still a mercurial squad…Texas should get maximum bonus points for travel and scheduling when the committee convenes.

- At-large Tracker. Who are the seven at-larges in each division right now (in seeding order)?

Division I

UC Santa Barbara (WCLL)
Utah Valley (RMLC)
Virginia Tech (ALC)
Georgia Tech (SELC)
Florida State (SELC)
Colorado (RMLC)
Georgia (SELC)

Division II

Utah State (RMLC)
Montana State (RMLC)
Cal State San Marcos (SLC)
Grand Valley State (UMLC)
Florida Gulf Coast (SELC)
Wake Forest (ALC)
North Dakota State (UMLC)

- The big winner during the first weekend of Camp MCLA was clearly Tulane. The Green Wave took down Bridgewater State, No. 16 Montana and UNC-Wilmington to bump its record to 5-0 on the season. Tulane will head back to Metone, Ala., this coming weekend for an even more challenging back-to-back when they clash with No. 10 Florida Gulf Coast and No. 6 UNC-Charlotte.

- Knee-jerk Top Five Player of the Year candidates in each division right now (in alphabetical order):

Division I

Sam Bellomy (Northeastern)
Taylor Mason (Brigham Young)
Keaton Mohs (Liberty)
Ryan Sanders (Cal Poly)
Morry Stein (Texas)

Division II

Keaton Bean (Northwest Nazarene)
Ryan Kerr (Florida Atlantic)
Austin Ortel (UC San Diego)
Mark Tang (Air Force)
Cooper Williams (Utah State)

- As always, get those head coach nominations for Warrior Player of the Week and PEARL Goalie of the Week to info@mcla.us by noon on Monday. Also, the polls are open for those voters who need to submit a ballot.