FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Basketball Committee has released this week's regional rankings. Thirteen Northeast-10 schools are ranked in the final East Region poll before selections are made on Sunday for the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament.

NCAA.com will stream the Division II Men's and Women's Selection shows live beginning at 9 p.m.

On the men's side Bentley University is ranked second behind the East Coast Conference's C.W. Post. The Pioneers are currently undefeated and have remainded number one in the region for the past six weeks. The University of Massachusetts Lowell is next in the number three spot, followed by Stonehill College and Merrimack College.

The University of Bridgeport (ECC) is sixth in the East Region, followed by Assumption College and Bloomfield College of the Central Athletic Collegiate Conference. Adelphi University (ECC) and Le Moyne College round out the top ten.

The Northeast-10 men's basketball championship continues tonight with the semifinal round featuring #9 Saint Anselm at #5 Assumption and #7 Southern New Hampshire at #6 Le Moyne.  The championship will conclude on Saturday, March 7 with the championship final.  The site of the contest will be at the highest remaining seed and tip-off is set for 1 p.m.

Over on the women's side, Franklin Pierce University leads the way ranked first in the East Region, followed by Holy Family (CACC) at number two.  The next four spots are filled with Northeast-10 schools as Stonehill is ranked third, followed in order by American International College, Bentley and the College of Saint Rose.

Ranked seventh and eighth respectively are the ECC's Molloy College and Dowling College, followed by Southern New Hampshire University and Pace University to round out the top ten.

The Northeast-10 women's basketball championship resumes on Friday, March 6 with the semifinal round.  Matchups include #4 American International traveling to #1 Franklin Pierce, while #7 Saint Rose will be at #3 Bentley.  The Championship will wrap up on Sunday, March 8 with the championship final.  The site of the contest will be at the highest remaining seed and tip-off is set for 1 p.m.

For more information on the Northeast-10 Championships be sure to log on to the Northeast-10 website (www.northeast10.org) for the latest updates.

With 15 member institutions the Northeast-10 is the second largest NCAA Division II athletic conference in the nation. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.

- NE-10 -

Men's East Region Rankings
1. C.W. Post
2. Bentley
3. UMass Lowell
4. Stonehill
5. Merrimack
6. Bridgeport
7. Assumption
8. Bloomfield
9. Adelphi
10. Le Moyne

Women's East Region Rankings
1. Franklin Pierce
2. Holy Family
3. Stonehill
4. American Int'l
5. Bentley
6. Saint Rose
7. Molloy
8. Dowling
9. Southern New Hampshire
10. Pace