Skyhawks claim three NE10 Championships to highlight fall season
NE10 Presidents' Cup Fall Standings Update
NACDA Division II Learfield Cup Standings (Through December 7)
Men's Cross Country |
Women's Tennis |
Women's Cross Country |
EASTON, Mass. (December 14, 2017) – Sparked by three Conference championships, Stonehill College sits in second place in the Northeast-10 Conference Presidents' Cup standings, which recognizes overall athletic success in the Conference over the course of the entire year, the league office announced today.
Stonehill, which has finished in the top three of the final NE10 Presidents' Cup standings 13 straight years after placing second following the 2016-17 academic year, compiled 79 points during the fall athletics season. The Skyhawks sit just a point and a half behind rival Bentley University, which seeks its ninth Presidents' Cup, but first since 2009, with 80.5 points. Adelphi University, the two-time defending Presidents' Cup champions rank third in the standings with 77.5 points. Stonehill and Adelphi have combined to win the last eight Presidents' Cups dating back to Bentley's last first place finish with the Skyhawks winning the Cup three-straight years from 2010-2012, while the Panthers have captured the Cup four of the last five years, with Stonehill claiming its fourth Cup over that time frame in 2015.
Following Adelphi in the NE10 Presidents' Cup standings after the fall season are Southern New Hampshire University in fourth (76.5 points), Assumption College in fifth (74.5), Merrimack College in sixth (69.5) and Le Moyne College in seventh (66).
In addition to its second place standing in the NE10 Presidents' Cup, Stonehill is ranked 18th 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 133.5 points from NCAA Championships participation for men's (58.5 points) and women's cross country (50) and field hockey (25). Adelphi is ranked 21th in the Learfield standings with 114 points as the only other NE10 member in the top 25.
In addition to its 13 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 and women's golf are awarded based on placement in those sports' respective conference championships.
Stonehill saw five of its eight fall championship programs participate in postseason play, led by a second-straight regular season championship from women's tennis and first place points from its NE10 champion men's and women's cross country programs. Second place Presidents' Cup points came from field hockey, which also reached the NE10 semifinals, while volleyball finished in a four-way tie for fifth place in its regular season standings on its way to an NE10 semifinals berth.
Field Hockey earned its fifth-straight NCAA Tournament bid (ninth overall) this fall, while the Men's Cross Country program went on to capture its fourth NCAA East Regional Championship after claiming the NE10 crown for the ninth time in program history – and first since 2013. Men's Cross Country would reach the NCAA Division II Championships for the 15th-straight year, where it was joined by the Women's Cross Country program, making their 17th-straight trip after placing second at the NCAA East Regional. Senior Emily Knox (Worcester, Massachusetts/Notre Dame Academy) won the individual championships at both the NE10 Championships and NCAA East Regional on her way to All-America honors with her 27th place finish at the NCAA Championships.
With 21 intercollegiate sports, Stonehill boasts one of the top athletic and academic programs in the country. In addition to finishing in the top three of the Northeast-10 Conference Presidents' Cup standings for overall athletic performance 13 straight years, the Skyhawks have received the NCAA Division II Presidents' Award for Academic Achievement each of the first seven years of the program's existence of honoring institutions with an Academic Success Rate (ASR) of 90-percent or better. Stonehill has earned a 97% Academic Success Ranking (ASR) by the NCAA, which considers the academic success rate of the institution based on the graduation rate of student-athletes, good for fourth among all NCAA Division II institutions, with ten 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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