Grand Valley retains lead in Director’s Cup standings

Published 3:46 pm Friday, May 27, 2011

CLEVELAND —Barry (Fla.) has set the pace thus far in the spring Division II Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings tallying a spring-high 259.00 points.

The Buccaneers took home the women’s tennis national championship, while also finishing second in men’s tennis and ninth in men’s golf.

Grand Valley State has retained the overall lead with 916.50 points. The Lakers finished sixth in women’s golf, ninth in women’s tennis and 21st in men’s golf during the first set of spring championships.

Taking over the second place spot is Grand Canyon (Ariz.), with 598.00 total points. The Antelopes most recently turned in results of 17th in both women’s golf and women’s tennis, as well as a 42nd place finish in men’s golf.

Abilene Christian (Tex.) is now in third place following three top 10 finishes in the spring championships. The Wildcats finished third in men’s golf and fifth in both men’s and women’s tennis to increase their point total to 575.00.

In fourth place with 563.75 points is Drury (Mo.). The Panthers finished ninth in both men’s and women’s tennis, while also turning in additional results of 13th in women’s golf and 45th in men’s golf.

Narrowly trailing Drury (Mo.) is Central Missouri. The Mules round out the top five with 563.50 points after finishing third in men’s golf.

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) and the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) have each placed two of their member institutions in the top 10. GLIAC institutions in the top 10 include first place Grand Valley State and ninth place Ashland (Ohio). PSAC institutions in the top 10 include eighth place Shippensburg (Pa.) and 10th place California (Pa.).

Five spring NCAA championships have been completed with the following institutions capturing titles: women’s golf — Nova Southeastern (Fla.); men’s golf — Cal State Monterey Bay; women’s lacrosse — Adelphi (N.Y.); women’s tennis — Barry (Fla.); men’s tennis — Valdosta State (Ga.).

The Learfield Sports 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 up to 14 sports — seven women’s and seven men’s.

The final Division II standings will be released Friday, June 17 in conjunction with the NACDA Convention and Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Luncheon presented by the USOC.