Stonehill College Director of Athletics Brendan Sullivan is presented with the Presidents' Cup by NE-10 Commissioner Julie Ruppert during the Conference's annual awards banquet tonight in Burlington, Vt. (PHOTO BY Shane Bufano) |
Skyhawks’ Cup winning 2009-2010 season marks sixth-straight top three finish
EASTON, Mass. (June 7, 2010) – Stonehill College has won the 2009-2010 Northeast-10 Conference Presidents’ Cup, it was announced tonight at the Conference’s end of the year awards banquet in Burlington, Vt. It marks the College’s second Presidents’ Cup, having also won the award in 2005-06, and is the sixth-straight year it has finished in the top three in the final standings.
“Congratulations to the student-athletes, coaches and administrators at Stonehill College on their outstanding accomplishment of capturing the Presidents’ Cup this year,” said NE-10 Commissioner Julie Ruppert. “In a 16-team Conference as deep and competitive as the NE-10, the success necessary to earn this honor requires tremendous dedication and commitment from the entire campus community and all of Stonehill should share in the celebration of this accomplishment. Clearly the Stonehill Skyhawks are living up to the ideals of Division II by providing high-level athletics competition and balancing that with notable academic achievements in the classroom.”
The Presidents’ Cup is presented annually to signify overall athletic excellence in the Northeast-10 Conference and is awarded to the institution that compiles the most points based on the placement at the conclusion of the regular season of each of its programs which compete 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 respective conference championships.
Stonehill captured its second Presidents’ Cup by accumulating 186.5 points during the academic year to out-pace defending Cup champion and rival Bentley University (178.5 points) by eight points. Adelphi University, completing its first year as an NE-10 member, placed third with 165.5 points, followed by Southern Connecticut State University (155.5) in fourth and the University of Massachusetts Lowell (143) in fifth. The Skyhawks finished second in 2008-09.
2009 NE-10 Field Hockey Champions |
2009 NE-10 Women's Cross Country Champions |
2009 NE-10 Men's Cross Country Champions |
2009-10 NE-10 Men's Basketball Champions |
2010 NE-10 Baseball Champions |
"This is a great accomplishment for the Skyhawk athletic program and for the entire Stonehill community," said Rev. Mark T. Cregan C.S.C., President of Stonehill College. "Our mission at Stonehill is centered on educating 'the whole person so that each Stonehill graduate thinks, acts and leads with courage.' Our student-athletes are leaders on and off the field, and their successes demonstrate our fulfillment of that mission. All of us at Stonehill - students, faculty, coaches, administrators and alumni - are thankful for this honor."
The Presidents’ Cup caps a tremendous year of success across Stonehill’s athletic department, which saw across the board improvement from all 19 Northeast-10 programs. Stonehill earned 11 NCAA Tournament bids, five NE-10 Championships, saw 12 student-athletes earn All-America status, three of its coaches receive NE-10 Coach of the Year recognition and one NE-10 Player of the Year. Proof that the future is also bright for the Skyhawks, five student-athletes earned NE-10 Freshman of the Year honors.
Stonehill’s student-athletes also performed in the classroom, with 14 earning NE-10 Academic All-Conference honors (through the winter sports program) to date, including senior men’s basketball All-Region honoree A.J. Rudowitz (Monroe Township, N.J./Monroe Township) who received NE-10 Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence honors, and five collecting ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District accolades. 53-percent of Stonehill student-athletes have achieved a 3.20 cumulative grade point average.
“On behalf of Stonehill College, I would like to offer my congratulations to our student-athletes, coaches and staff on this great achievement,” said Brendan Sullivan, who is completing his second year as Director of Athletics at the College. “Our coaches and staff have worked tirelessly this year to provide our student-athletes with opportunities to succeed and our student-athletes have excelled in those opportunities as individuals and teams in the name of Stonehill College. I would also like to offer my thanks to our leadership at Stonehill – (President) Fr. Mark Cregan, C.S.C., (Vice President for Student Affairs) Fr. John Denning and (Assistant Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation) Paula Sullivan for their visionary leadership and support which allows our Skyhawk student-athletes to soar so high.”
Stonehill’s year got underway with the men’s and women’s cross country programs both capturing NE-10 championships in late October, followed by the field hockey team winning the NE-10 regular season title. All three teams participated in the NCAA Championships, with the field hockey team earning the North Region’s top seed and serving as host of the NCAA Championships at W.B. Mason Stadium in mid-November. The women’s cross country team also captured the East Regional title at Franklin Park in Dorchester in early November.
Over the winter months, Stonehill won the NE-10 regular season crown for men’s basketball and the team was joined in the NCAA Tournament by the women’s basketball squad. Freshman track and field star Corey Thomas (Brookline, Mass./BC High) qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships for both the high jump and 60-meter hurdles – earning All-America honors with his third-place finish in the high jump.
All seven of Stonehill’s spring sports teams reached postseason play, led by a late-season push by the baseball team to win its third NE-10 Tournament title. Both the women’s tennis and lacrosse teams finished second in the NE-10 standings and advanced to the championship game of their respective tournaments. Four Skyhawk teams represented the College in NCAA Tournaments, while Thomas and junior Patrick Fullerton (Bradford, Mass./Haverhill) both qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
In addition to its five NE-10 Championships over the course of the year, three other programs placed second (women’s indoor track & field, women’s tennis and lacrosse) in the final NE-10 regular season standings of championship and 17 finished in the top five of the standings or their respective championships. Stonehill compiled an overall mark of 207-123-4 (.626) in team competition during the course of the 2009-2010 academic year, with 11 of 13 team sports finishing .500 or better.
NE-10 Team
Championships
Men’s and Women’s Cross Country
Field Hockey – regular season
Men’s Basketball – regular season
Baseball – tournament
All-Americans
Erin Carmone – Women’s Cross Country
Jackie Ladino – Field Hockey and Lacrosse
Claire Hourihan – Field Hockey
Stephanie Kott – Field Hockey
Kelsey Simonds – Women’s Basketball
Corey Thomas – Indoor & Outdoor Track & Field (high
jump)
Jaclyn Craig – Lacrosse
Samantha Lynott – Lacrosse
Sarah Galligan – Lacrosse
Rebecca Moore – Lacrosse
ESPN The Magazine Academic
All-District
Emily Rousseau – Women’s Basketball
A.J. Rudowitz – Men’s Basketball
Katy Abarr - Softball
Jaclyn Craig – Lacrosse #
Michael Mashkevich – Tennis #
# - still eligible for Academic All-America honors to be announced this week