Department News

TUFTS PLACES SIXTH OUT OF 311 SCHOOLS IN FINAL LEARFIELD SPORTS DIRECTORS' CUP STANDINGS

The men's lacrosse team won the NCAA Championship to score 100 points towards the Directors' Cup rankings

MEDFORD -- The Tufts University varsity athletics program matched its best performance ever with a sixth-place finish in the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup rankings for the 2009-10 year. The Jumbos finished with 699 total points for the fall, winter, and spring seasons. That was 10.25 ahead of seventh-place Wisconsin LaCrosse and 5.25 behind fifth-place Illinois Wesleyan. The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup ranks 311 NCAA Division III teams.

The Directors' Cup awards points based on finishes at NCAA events. The program honors institutions maintaining a broad-based varsity athletics program, achieving success in many sports, both men's and women's. Started in 1993-94 for Division I by the National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today, it was expanded in 1995-96 to include Division II, III and the NAIA. Each institution is awarded points in a pre-determined number of sports for men and women. In Division III, nine men's sports and nine women's sports for 18 total are included.

Five Tufts spring teams scored points this year, including Coach Mike Daly's men's lacrosse team which won the NCAA Championship for 100 points in the Directors' Cup. Coach John Casey's baseball team and Coach Kate Bayard's women's tennis team, both regional runner-ups, scored 64 points each for the Jumbos. Coach Kristen Morwick's women's track & field team added 54 points, and Coach Ethan Barron's men's track & field team scored 23.5 points.

Five Tufts winter teams also scored points this year. Coach Adam Hoyt's men's swimming & diving team led the way with 55.5 points from their 18th place finish at the NCAA meet. Coach Carla Berube's women's basketball team contributed 50 points with their 17th place finish. Men's and women's track & field, coached respectively by Ethan Barron and Kristen Morwick, along with women's swimming & diving, coached by Nancy Bigelow, also added to Tufts' total of 237.5 points for the winter.

In the fall, Coach Tina McDavitt's Tufts field hockey team earned 83 points with their NCAA semi-final appearance. Coach Cora Thompson's volleyball team advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals and earned 73 points. The 156 points from the fall combined with the winter score give the Jumbos a 393.5 total. The Jumbos are ranked fifth overall among New England schools, behind first place Williams, second place Amherst, fifth place Middlebury, and ninth place MIT.

This is the second straight top 10 performance for Tufts . The program finished in 10th place overall for 2008-09. The Jumbos were sixth in the 2005-06 Directors' Cup, which matches this year's effort as the best ever. Tufts was 16th in 2007 (545.25) and 16th again in 2008 (580).

►Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Standings for 2009-10

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