The Muhlenberg women’s basketball team is the best in the country that was not invited to the NCAA Division III Tournament, according to the latest d3hoops.com national poll.

The Mules are ranked 22nd, and all 21 teams ahead of them received bids to the 50-team NCAA tournament. The two teams behind them, No. 23 St. Thomas and No. 24 Lebanon Valley, also were left out. The national poll has no bearing on the selection process.

The complete poll:

	School	Record	Pts	Last
1	Washington (Mo.) (25)	25-0	625	1
2	Bowdoin	24-1	569	3
3	Wilmington	26-1	556	4
4	Hope	26-2	527	6
5	Hardin-Simmons	25-1	511	5
6	Southern Maine	25-2	506	8
7	Eastern Connecticut State	25-2	473	2
8	Wis.-Stout	23-4	460	11
9	Wis.-Stevens Point	24-3	384	7
10	Messiah	23-3	354	15
11	Emmanuel	26-2	337	13
12	Scranton	23-4	330	16
13	DePauw	22-3	320	10
14	King’s	23-3	291	9
15	Carleton	22-5	247	25
16	St. Benedict	23-4	237	12
17	St. Lawrence	24-3	226	18
18	Pacific Lutheran	21-3	216	19
19	Webster	23-2	189	21
20	Salisbury	23-4	144	24
21	Springfield	24-3	129	23
22	Muhlenberg	21-4	105	17
23	St. Thomas	21-5	79	14
24	Lebanon Valley	23-4	67	22
25	Case Western	19-6	45	20

Others receiving votes: Ithaca 38; Marymount 29; Anderson 23; Wis.-Oshkosh 20; Western Maryland 19; Wheaton (Ill.) 15; Wartburg 14; Guilford 8; Lakeland 8; Middlebury 7; Baldwin-Wallace 5; Christopher Newport 5; Centre 2; Chapman 2; Alvernia 1; Buffalo State 1; Ohio Wesleyan 1.

The two-time defending Centennial Conference champion Muhlenberg softball team opens its 2002 season in Osceola, Florida, on Sunday. The team will play eight games in six days during the trip.

Last season Muhlenberg was one win shy of tying the school record for most wins. The Mules finished 25-17 while winning the CC title and finishing

Kostelnick needs 16 RBI to break the Mules’ career record of 82.

third at the NCAA Atlantic Regional. Clearly last season was the best so far under head coach Ruth Gibbs’ five-year stint, and she hopes the sun gets brighter this coming season.

Gibbs realizes that last year was very good but she knows that this year can be even better with the personnel she has returning. “Expectations are as high as they ever were in my six years here,” Gibbs says. “We have a very experienced and talented pitching staff coming back, and we have great senior leadership. Ultimately we would like to repeat as CC champions and make a run at nationals.”

The returning pitchers are senior Angela Tyson and sophomore Danielle DeLucia. Tyson recorded a 2.26 ERA and an 11-8 record and was an All-CC honorable mention selection. This is Tyson’s fourth year and as a personal goal she said, “I want to pitch to my capability and play every game like it is my last because this is my last season.” DeLucia was named CC pitcher of the year after finishing last season with a 13-8 record and a 1.27 ERA, which is the fourth lowest in team history.

Top returning hitters include senior Elizabeth Kostelnick and sophomores Becki Toth and Jaclyn Maser. Kostelnick, a three-year starter at first base, was named to the All-CC first team and led the Mules with 26 RBI. Toth, an All-CC first team and All-East Region selection as an outfielder, batted .417 and became only the third player in school history to have 50 hits in a season. Maser was named to the All-CC second team at third base while hitting .321 and leading the team with 12 extra-base hits.

Junior Meghan Woods and sophomore Kate Dischino shared the duties behind the plate last season. Woods led the team with 1.000 fielding percentage and batted .294 with nine extra-base hits, while Dischino batted .286.

Other returning starters are junior Kelly Berg and Kristen Best and sophomores Amanda Ibey and Nicole Sarno. Berg, a two-time All-CC second-team selection, batted .321 while serving as the designated hitter most of last year. Best, an outfielder, knocked in six runs. Ibey batted .323 while starting at second base, and Sarno earned All-CC honorable mention as a centerfielder after batting .298 and stealing nine bases.