NE-10 Champion Women's Track & Field |
NE-10 Regular Season Champion Ice Hockey |
Skyhawks lead a top four still separated by just five points after claiming two winter championships to run season total to five
EASTON, Mass. (March 21, 2014) – Four-time Northeast-10 Conference Presidents’ Cup Champions Stonehill College moved into first place in the 2013-14 Presidents’ Cup standings following a winter season which saw two Skyhawk teams win NE-10 Championships and four of its five teams finish in the top two of their season or championship standings.
Stonehill, which has finished in the top three of the final NE-10 Presidents’ Cup standings each of the last nine years, has 110 points following the winter sports season in the NE-10. The Skyhawks lead a top four that are separated by just five points heading into the spring sports calendar. Bentley University, winners of eight Presidents’ Cups, trails Stonehill by just one point (109 points) in second place, followed by reigning Presidents’ Cup champions Adelphi University (105.5) in third and Southern Connecticut State University (105) in fourth, with American International College (97) rounding out the top five.
“Congratulations to our student-athletes and coaches on a fine year so far,” said Brendan Sullivan, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Stonehill. “As a Department, we set as our first priority to win the NE-10 Presidents’ Cup. The hard work, commitment, and talent of our student-athletes, coaches, and administrators has ensured that Stonehill College remains a place where broad based athletic success is both possible and constantly celebrated. That said, our work is not done for the year and we all turn to cheer our spring athletic teams in the coming weeks so they can help us capture our fifth Cup in the past nine years.”
Stonehill, which won three Northeast-10 Championships during the fall season, added two more titles during the winter to surpass last year’s total of four which led all NE-10 institutions in 2012-13. Stonehill’s ice hockey team won its first NE-10 regular season championship in program history with a perfect 11-0 record, while the women’s track and field program captured its first NE-10 Indoor Championship this winter. Four of the five Skyhawks winter sports teams finished in the top two of their NE-10 regular season or championship standings as the women’s basketball team completed the regular season in second place in the NE-10 Northeast Division standings on their way to an NCAA Tournament bid, while the men’s track & field program posted its fourth-straight top two finish at the NE-10 Indoor Championships with a runner-up finish.
Stonehill’s fall championships included the men’s and women’s cross country teams sweeping the NE-10 Championships for the third straight year with the women winning their fifth consecutive title and 12th in program history overall and the men capturing their third straight championship and eighth overall. The Stonehill football team also earned a share of its first NE-10 regular season championship with an 8-1 record in Conference play.
Stonehill, which won the NE-10 Presidents’ Cup for the 2005-06, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 academic years, has earned 3.50 more points than at this point last season, which was good for fourth place on its way to a third place finish in the final standings. 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.
With 20 intercollegiate sports, Stonehill boasts one of the top athletic and academic programs in the country. The Skyhawks have finished in the top three in the final NE-10 Presidents' Cup standings nine straight years, winning the Cup four times, including a streak of three-straight from 2009-10 through 2011-12. This prestigious award is given to the top performing athletic school in the Northeast-10, across all sports and seasons. Stonehill has received the NCAA Division II Presidents' Award for Academic Achievement each of the first two years if the program's existence of honoring programs with an Academic Success Rate (ASR) of 90-percent or better. The Skyhawks have 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 fifth among all NCAA Division II institutions, with ten Skyhawk teams receiving a perfect rating of 100%. In addition, the Skyhawks are ranked sixth in the National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA) Power Rankings used to assess the academic and athletic standards of all NCAA and NAIA athletic programs.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter and Facebook. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks mobile app on iTunes and the Android Market.