Concordia, which finished its regular season with an 8-2 record and a 39-10 victory over Carleton last Friday, vaulted from No. 6 to No. 4 in the West Region poll. The top four teams from each region advance to the playoffs.
"I think our chances our real good," said Concordia head coach Jim Christopherson, who will find out for sure Sunday when the Division III pairings will be announced..
Last week, the West Region poll had Wisconsin-Whitewater No. 1 followed by Simpson (Iowa), Wisconsin-LaCrosse, Augsbrug, Central (Iowa) and Concordia. This week, the poll has Whitewater on top followed by Simpson, Augsburg, Concordia, Central and Wisconsin-LaCrosse.
Whitewater, which lost to LaCrosse, now has two losses like Central and Concordia. Central plays 3-5 Buena Vista Saturday.
"Leapfrogging over Central really helped us," Christopherson said. "Central is our biggest threat. Even if they do win Saturday, we still feel pretty good about our chances."