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Skyhawks also ranked 12th in Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings
NE10 Presidents' Cup Fall Standings Announcement
NACDA Learfield Sports Directors Cup Standings
EASTON, Mass. (December 15, 2016) – Following a strong fall athletics season, Stonehill College shares the top spot in the Northeast-10 Conference Presidents' Cup standings the league announced today.
Stonehill, which has finished in the top three of the final NE10 Presidents' Cup standings 12 straight years, shares the top spot with defending Presidents' Cup champions Adelphi University with 83 points. Stonehill and Adelphi have combined to win the last seven Presidents' Cups, with the Skyhawks winning three straight from 2009-2012 as well as for the 2014-15 academic year, and the Panthers adding their first two Presidents' Cups in 2012-13 and 2013-14 to go with last year's championship. American International College sits third in the fall standings with 78 points, followed by Le Moyne College (73.5 points), Assumption College (72), Merrimack College (71.4) and Bentley University (70).
In addition to its first place standing in the NE10 Presidents' Cup, Stonehill is ranked 12th in the most recent Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings released at the end of last week. The Skyhawks lead all NE10 institutions in the Learfield standings with 152 points from NCAA Championships participation for men's (50 points) and women's cross country (52), field hockey (25) and women's soccer (25). Adelphi is ranked 19th in the Learfield standings with 137 points as the only other NE10 member in the top 25.
In addition to its 12 straight top three finishes, Stonehill has won the NE-10 Presidents' Cup five times, following the 2005-06, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2014-15 academic years. The Presidents' Cup is presented annually to signify overall athletic excellence in the Northeast-10. The honor is awarded to the institution that compiles the most cumulative points, based on finishes in the regular-season standings, from all of its programs competing in league championships. Points for men's and women's cross country, men's and women's swimming & diving, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field, and men's golf are awarded based on placement in those sports' respective conference championships.
Stonehill, which finished third in the 2016-17 NE10 Presidents' Cup standings, had six of its eight fall championship programs participate in postseason play, led by a regular season championship from women's tennis and first place points from its NE10 champion women's cross country program. Stonehill's third fall championship came from women's soccer, which finished fourth in the NE10 regular season standings. Second place Presidents' Cup points also came from field hockey and men's cross country, while none of Stonehill's fall teams finishing lower than ninth in the final regular season standings.
Women's Soccer earned its first NCAA Tournament bid in program history after capturing its first NE10 title since 1995 with a 2-1 win over Pace University in the championship match, while field hockey received their fourth straight NCAA bid. The women's cross country team added its seventh regional championship over the last eight years to their eighth straight NE10 title to reach the NCAA Championships for the 17th straight year, while men's cross country placed second at the regional meet to advance to nationals for the 14th straight year.
With 21 intercollegiate sports, after announcing the addition of women's golf for the 2017-18 academic year, Stonehill boasts one of the top athletic and academic programs in the country. While finishing in the top three of the Northeast-10 Conference Presidents' Cup standings for overall athletic performance 12 straight years, the Skyhawks have received the NCAA Division II Presidents' Award for Academic Achievement each of the first six years of the program's existence of honoring institutions with an Academic Success Rate (ASR) of 90-percent or better. Stonehill has earned a 96% Academic Success Ranking (ASR) by the NCAA three straight years, which considers the academic success rate of the institution based on the graduation rate of student-athletes, good for sixth among all NCAA Division II institutions, with 11 Skyhawk teams receiving a perfect rating of 100%. In addition, the Skyhawks are ranked third in the National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA) Power Rankings for Division II used to assess the academic and athletic standards of all NCAA and NAIA athletic programs.
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