Williams College Captures Eighth Straight Directors’ Cup

March 9th, 2007

Three Straight Years #1 in academics and #1 in athletics in the same year

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA — The student-athletes of Williams College have turned the rarest of feats into a common place — and annual — occurrence.

Williams College was awarded the U.S. Sports Academy Directors’ Cup presented by NACDA for the academic year 2005-2006. It is the eighth straight Directors’ Cup for the Ephs, whose athletic program has won 10 of the 11 Directors’ Cups awarded at the Division III level.

That has allowed the Ephs to be deemed No. 1 nationally both in academics (U.S. News & World Report) and athletics (Directors’ Cup) for the third consecutive year — a feat which had never been done by any other of the 1,053 NCAA member institutions at any level before Williams accomplished it during the 2003-2004 year.

"I am extremely proud to accept the Directors’ Cup” on behalf of our student-athletes, coaching faculty, support staff and college community," said Williams Athletic Director Harry Sheehy III. "The students on our teams exhibit great work ethic, discipline and passion. I know I speak for our coaches when I say that our students are a great source of pride and inspiration for us all. I also want to thank our coaches for their work in making the athletic experience a true part of our athlete’s education here at Williams."

The Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in NCAA post-season events up to 18 sports — nine women’s and nine men’s.

Over the 2005-2006 year, Williams College - which uses Sportexe synthetic turf systems on its Renzie W. Lamb Field for field hockey, lacrosse, soccer and intramurals - registered points in 14 of the 18 maximum sports (eight women’s teams, six men’s teams). The Ephs finished with 920.50 points, finishing 130.25 points ahead of runner-up The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), which finished with 790.25.

Female runners had quite a year for Williams. In the fall, the women’s cross country finished second in the nation. In the winter, the women’s indoor track and field team placed second in the country. In the spring, track & field finished second nationally at the outdoor championships. (Only the indoor score counted toward the Directors’ Cup standings). Senior Caroline Cretti spurred all three teams, winning three individual national titles this year the 5,000m indoors and the 5,000 and 10,000 outdoors.

The Ephs were sixth in the fall standings 123 points behind leader TCNJ, but had a very strong winter and climbed up to second place - just .75 of a point behind TCNJ. The Ephs women’s swimming and diving team finished third in the nation and senior Lindsay Payne captured five national titles (three individual, two relays) while setting national records in three different events and becoming the first Div. III female athlete to win the 100 breaststroke four times in a career. Payne, was named Swimmer of the Meet at the NCAA Championships for the second year in a row and was honored by Honda as its national Inspiration Award winner for 2006 in all NCAA divisions.

The men’s swimming and diving also had a strong season, with the Ephs swimming to a fifth-place finish at the NCAA championships. Senior Will Cunningham won the 100 backstroke for the third consecutive time in his career, breaking his own national record in the process.

Williams women’s hoop team reached the "Sweet 16" of the 63-team NCAA Tournament for the second time in the program’s history. The Ephs gained an at-large berth into the tournament, its first berth since 1999, and defeated NYU and Messiah at Messiah before bowing to Baldwin-Wallace to finish 23-6.

For the first time in school history, two Eph alpine skiers earned All-America honors in the same year as first-year Eric Mann and sophomore Charles Christianson each achieved that honor, helping the Ephs place 15th at the national championships. Christianson earned All-America honors in the slalom and giant slalom.

Junior wrestler Jon Dolan placed sixth at the nationals — the second year in a row he earned All-America honors — as the Ephs finished 35th in the country.

In the fall, Williams’ field hockey team reached the quarterfinals, and the men’s soccer team secured Cup points with a run to the "Elite 8" of the Div. III NCAA Tournament. Seniors Josh Bolton (MF) and Nick Armington (GK) both signed professional contracts - Bolton with the Rochester Rhinos and Armington with Real Salt Lake. In the spring, both the men’s (fourth) and women’s (fifth) tennis teams concluded special seasons with deep runs into the tourney. Men’s tennis made its 10th consecutive appearance in the NCAA quarterfinals under Dave Johnson.

The Eph softball team set a school record for consecutive wins (20) en route to a second straight berth to the Div. III National Finals, while the men’s track and field team, with only six members at the NCAA Championships, placed fourth in the country. Senior Dan Austin won his second straight national title in the discus.

Off the fields, courts and out of the pools, many Ephs achieved equal success in the classrooms. A record 202 student-athletes were honored in May at the annual Scholar-Athlete dinner. Only sophomores, juniors and seniors nominated by a coach, possessing a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.20 and who start or serve as a key reserve, are eligible for the honor.

"We celebrate excellence throughout the Williams community," Williams President Morton Owen Schapiro said. "The magnificent performance on the various playing fields is a wonderful compliment to what happens in our classrooms, laboratories, and studios and on our stages."

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