Nov. 22, 2011
View Presidents' Cup Standings
Behind several benchmark fall seasons, UMass Lowell currently ranks on top of the 2011-12 Northeast-10 Conference Presidents’ Cup Standings, the Conference announced Tuesday.
The Presidents' Cup is presented annually to signify overall athletic excellence in the Northeast-10 Conference. The achievement is awarded to the institution that compiles the highest point total based on the regular-season finishes of each of the school’s programs in the Conference’s 23 respective sports.
Points for men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s indoor/outdoor track and field, and men's golf are awarded based on placement in their respective conference championships.
UMass Lowell compiled 76 points to edge Stonehill College (74) and Bentley (73). Southern Connecticut (67.5) currently sits in fourth place just head of Merrimack (64) Adelphi (59) and American International College (59).
“In a 16-team conference as deep and competitive as the Northeast-10, the success necessary to earn this honor requires tremendous dedication and commitment from the entire campus community,” said NE-10 Commissioner Julie Ruppert.
All seven of UMass Lowell’s Northeast-10 Conference-sponsored fall teams finished in the top half of their respective standings.
UMass Lowell was led by the success of its field hockey team (19-4 overall, 9-1 in the NE-10), which finished second in the NE-10 regular season and moved on to capture its second straight NE-10 Tournament title. The River Hawks moved on to the NCAA Championship match for the fifth consecutive season where they fell to West Chester 2-1.
The women’s and men’s soccer teams both enjoyed third-place finishes. The UMass Lowell women (11-6-4) advanced to the NCAA East Region championship match – marking its best-ever showing in the NCAA Tournament – where they fell at Saint Rose (2-1) last weekend.
The River Hawk men (11-7-0, 9-4-0 NE-10) enjoyed a spectacular reversal from last season’s 3-11-2 finish and advanced to the NE-10 Tournament semifinal round after missing out on the 2009 and 2010 tournaments.
UMass Lowell’s men’s cross country team, despite losing its top two runners, took third at the NE-10 Championship but rebounded to win its fourth consecutive NCAA East Region title two weeks later. The River Hawks placed 20th at the NCAA Championship last weekend.
The golf team also enjoyed a solid fall season, placing fourth at the NE-10 Championship, and later finishing a best-ever third at the New England Intercollegiate Golf Association (NEIGA) Championship, which pits Division I, II and III colleges against one another.
UMass Lowell’s volleyball team (13-11, 8-7 NE-10), with 10 freshmen and sophomores, placed in a tie for seventh in the regular season and stunned No. 1 New Haven, 3-0, in the first round of the NE-10 Tournament to advance to the semifinal round.
The women’s cross country team took eighth place at the NE-10 Championship and, two weeks later at the NCAA East Region Championship, placed fourth to cap the season.
