Ephs Late Spring Power Surge Delivers 9th Straight Directors'
Cup
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| Williams has won the Directors' Cup nine years in a row |
CLEVELAND, OH (June 12, 2007)– Trailing
NESCAC foe Middlebury by 91 points after the May 24th spring U.S.
Sports Academy Directors' Cup update Williams College proceeded to
score in four NCAA championship events to top the Panthers and the
rest of Division III with 1,137.5 points.
The win extended the Ephs' streak of Directors' Cup victories,
emblematic of athletic supremacy in Division III, to nine
consecutive years. Williams has now won 11 of the 12 Directors'
Cups awarded in NCAA Division III as only the 1998 Cup won by UC
San Diego eluded their grasp. The Directors' Cup is currently
sponsored by the U.S. Sports Academy and is presented by the
National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).
There are currently 420 members in NCAA Division III.
The Ephs were sixth in the Cup rankings at the end of the fall
season with 252 points, 70 points behind the 322 points accumulated
by Calvin College (MI). The Ephs scored in men's and women's cross
country, field hockey and men's soccer.
A strong winter campaign highlighted by extraordinary efforts from
Jon Dolan in wrestling, Norman Scott in swimming and the women's
track & field team boosted the Ephs to the top of the Cup
rankings.
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| Dana Leary '07, National Div. III Men's Soccer Player of the Yea |
Dolan, a two-sport captain (football and wrestling) earned
All-America honors in wrestling for the third year in a row and
second time at 174 lbs. Dolan's success placed the Ephs 39th in the
wrestling standings.
Scott came from the 18th seed to win the 100 butterfly at the NCAA
championships to finish fourth in the prelims and then won the
event in the finals. Williams finished fourth at the NCAA
Championships.
The women's track & field team with just eight members got
multiple All-America placements from Maddy Outman (4) and Caroline
Doctor (2) and brought home its first NCAA title.
Williams also scored in men's and women's basketball, skiing,
women's swimming & diving and men's track & field
Heading into the spring season the Ephs led Middlebury by 40 points. That lead was turned into a 91-point deficit by Middlebury's great start in the spring NCAA championships and on May 24th the Panthers led the Ephs by 91 points – 1,011.5 to 920.5. Arch rival Amherst was now in the picture as the Lord Jeffs were third with 807.25 points.
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| Carolyn Scudder '07 |
The Ephs held a slight advantage after the update though as they
had an opportunity to score in four of the five NCAA championships
left, while Middlebury and Amherst could only score in two.
Baseball (27-10) under first year head coach Bill Barrale advanced
to the NCAA New England Regional Semifinals. It was the Ephs' first
time in the NCAA Tournament since 2001.
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| Maddy Outman '08, All- American in four event |
Women's golf in just its third year of varsity play placed 10th
out of 20 teams at the NCAA Championships with three sophomores and
two first years in the lineup.
Interim women's crew head coach Pat Tynan arrived from the Colby
novice programs and took over a Williams team with just one senior
in the top two boats. Tynan guided the Ephs to the NCAA Rowing
title as his Varsity 1 boat went undefeated and his Varsity 2 boat
finished ahead of all of the other Varsity 22 boats at the NCAA
Championships.
When Middlebury scored in one of their two final opportunities and
the Ephs scored in four (out of five) it enabled Williams to erase
Middlebury's lead and capture the Cup with 1,137.5 points.
Middlebury finished second with 1,064.50 points. Amherst ended up
scoring in one final event as well and finished fourth in the
rankings with 887.25 points.
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| Norman Scott '09 NCAA 100 butterfly champion |
The Ephs also netted spring sports points in men's and women's tennis and men's and women's track & field.
The U.S. Sports Academy Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. The United States Sports Academy, based in Daphne, Alabama, is the program sponsor. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 18 sports -- nine women’s and nine men’s. This year the Ephs scored in the maximum 18 sports, but had a total of 19 teams from which to select their 18 highest point scorers.
NCAA Div. III Top Ten Directors' Cup
Finishers
1. Williams – 1,137.5
2. Middlebury – 1,064.50
3. Cortland State – 892.75
4. Amherst – 887.25
5. Washington Univ. (MO) -- 845
6. TCNJ -- 797
7. Wisc. La Crosse – 718.75
8. Calvin -- 713
9. Emory – 694.50
10. Johns Hopkins -- 686.25
