BYU-Hawaii women, Grand Canyon men#1 in regional soccer polls

PHOENIX, AZ - For the first time in the short history of Pacific West Conference soccer, two conference teams top the NCAA Division II West Region rankings.

Grand Canyon University (9-2-1/7-1 PacWest) is ranked first in the men's regional poll, while BYU-Hawaii (9-0-2/7-0-1 PacWest) tops the women's rankings. For BYU-Hawaii, it marks the first men's or women's soccer program from Hawai‘i to claim the number one ranking in the NCAA II West Region.

The NCAA II men's regional poll was released on Oct. 12, while the women's regional poll was announced on Oct. 13. The regional rankings are the vehicle by which Division II institutions are selected to the national championship tournaments.

The top six women's programs and the best four men's soccer teams are awarded berths in the post-season.

The PacWest champion receives an automatic bid to participate in the 48-team women's field, while the NCAA does not provide automatic qualifiers for men's soccer.

The Seasider women's program is one of two PacWest teams ranked in the regional poll. Grand Canyon (7-3-1/5-2-1 PacWest) cracked the ranking by claiming a ninth-place spot on the list.

In addition to the Grand Canyon men, Notre Dame de Namur (9-2/6-1 PacWest) also landed in the regional poll at #6.

The final regular-season men's poll will be published on Nov. 2, while the final regular-season women's poll will be announced on Nov. 3. The men's and women's soccer championship selections will take place on Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. EST via a webcast selection show at NCAA.com.

Men's Rankings: http://www.ncaa.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/ncaa/sports/m-soccer/auto_pdf/20101012DIIMSOPoll

Women's Rankings: http://www.ncaa.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/ncaa/sports/w-soccer/auto_pdf/20101013DIIWSOPoll