Regional semifinal celebration vs. UAA, March 13, 2010
Among Seattle Pacific's many accomplishments this season was winning the West Regional championship and advancing to the Elite Eight.

SPU 7th in Final Hoop Poll

Falcons Take Their Place in National Top 10 for the Third Straight Season

3/31/2010 4:51:05 PM


       Complete poll

SEATTLE – On the heels of their first trip to the Elite Eight since 2005, the Seattle Pacific Falcons wound up seventh in the final USA Today/ESPN Division II poll of the year.

The Falcons (27-4) climbed six spots in the final poll, having headed to St. Joseph, Mo., last week in the No. 13 spot. SPU totaled 383 points in the voting.

It is the third straight year the Falcons have finished seventh in the last poll of the season. They were ranked No. 16 in the 2009-10 preseason poll. The No. 7 ranking was Seattle Pacific's highest of the year.

Julie van Beek 2009-10
"At the beginning of the year, we wanted to go to the Elite Eight, and I think it's fitting that we reached our goal and we finished in the top eight," Falcons coach Julie van Beek said. "It was an amazing group of girls that continued to grow a little bit each week. When you put your mind to something and bite off a little bit each time, you can accomplish great things."

As expected, newly crowned champion Emporia State of Kansas wound up at No. 1, although it wasn't unanimous. Emporia received 20 of the 22 first-place votes and 547 points. The Hornets were No. 7 in the preseason poll. The other two first-place votes went to Gannon of Pennsylvania, which came into the tournament undefeated, but lost in the semifinals to finish at 37-1, was No. 2. Gannon had 513 points.

Fort Lewis College of Durango, Colo, which scored a 68-59 victory against SPU in the quarterfinals, wound up third in the final poll despite making it to the national championship game. The Skyhawks had 494 points.

Preseason No. 1 pick Michigan Tech was fifth in the final poll after losing to Emporia State in the Elite Eight quarterfinals.

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