Mercer Men's Basketball Ranked No. 1 Nationally in RPI

After downing Southeastern Conference opponents Alabama and Auburn in a four-day span and starting the 2008-09 campaign with an unblemished 3-0 record for the first time since 1984, the Mercer men’s basketball team has been rewarded with the top spot in CollegeRPI.com’s rankings.

The College RPI takes into account a team's winning percentage (25%), its opponents' winning percentage (50%), and the winning percentage of those opponents' opponents (25%) when ranking every team in the nation. The Bears check in ahead of every traditional Division I roundball powerhouse in the country for the first time since the inception of the Ratings Percentage Index in 1981.

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Emory Volleyball Earns No. 1 Ranking

The Emory University volleyball team holds down the No. 1 spot in the week's Bison/American Volleyball Coaches Division III Poll. The Eagles received 21 of 24 first-place votes and totaled 596 points. Juniata College, which had been No. 1 since the start of the season, slipped to the No. 2 position with one first-place vote and 571 points. La Verne (559 pts.), Washington University (526 pts.) and Wittenberg (499 pts.) round out the top five.

Emory ascended to the top of the poll following an impressive 3-1 win over Juniata this past weekend at the Emory National Challenge. It marked the second time this year that the two schools had met with Juniata claiming a 3-0 decision at the Leopard Invitational hosted by La Verne.

Head Coach Jenny McDowell and her squad have enjoyed considerable success against nationally ranked teams this year, compiling an 8-1 mark against teams that have been ranked among the top 25.

This week's No. 1 ranking represents the first time since Nov. 15, 2005, that the Eagles have held the top position among Division III teams.

Emory returns to action this Friday and Saturday (Nov. 7-8) when it looks to defend its title at the University Athletic Association Championships in St. Louis.

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Emory Volleyball Ranked No. 3 in Preseason Poll

SSG Note: Emory Eagles, we're rooting for you. After all the Olympic volleyball coverage lately, we're primed and ready to cheer you to victory!

Hopes are high in the Emory volleyball camp during the early stages of fall drills and those optimistic expectations are shared by voters in the CBS College Sports Network/American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III Top 25 Preseason Poll with the Eagles holding down the No. 3 position. Emory finished with 541 points and received one first-place vote. The Eagles’ preseason ranking is the program’s highest since the preseason poll made its debut in 2000.

Head Coach Jenny McDowell enters her 13th season at the helm of the program with a total of nine letterwinners, including four starters, returning from last season’s club that posted an overall won-lost slate of 33-7 that included an 12th straight appearance to the NCAA Tournament where it advanced to the quarterfinal round. Among the returnees are senior setter Madison Robelen, a second team All-America honoree from 2007, and senior middle hitter Dani Huffman, who garnered first team All-University Athletic Association status last season.

Holding down the No. 1 spot in the preseason rankings is Juniata College with 13 first-place votes and 588 total points. University Athletic Association member and defending national champion Washington University is No. 2 with 584 points while Wittenberg College (492 pts.) and La Verne (466 pts.) are 4th and 5th, respectively.

The Eagles opens the 2008 campaign the weekend of August 29-30 when they compete at the Comfort Inn Challenge hosted by Birmingham Southern College.

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