CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR JUNE 19, 2009
Calvin Finishes 22nd in Final Learfield Sports Director's Cup Standings;
Wittingen and Koster Named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans
LEARFIELD DIRECTOR'S CUP STANDINGS
For the 14th consecutive year, Calvin has posted a top 25 finish in the final
NCAA III Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings, and continues to be one of
only seven schools in the country to finish in the top 25 every year that the
competition has been held at the NCAA III level.
Joining Calvin in that elite group are Williams, Mass., Amherst, Mass.,
Middlebury, Vt., Wisconsin-LaCrosse, the State University of New York at
Cortland and Emory, Ga.
Calvin has finished 22nd in the nation in Division III in 2008-2009 with a
point total of 541.0 points.
Williams College, Mass., defended its title as the best athletics program in
the nation in Division III by winning its 13th U.S. Sports Academy Directors'
Cup with 1,056.50 points.
The Cup is presented annually by the National Association of Collegiate
Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and Learfield Sports to the best overall
collegiate athletics programs in the country, and is based on points earned by
teams that compete in NCAA Championship events.
Division III points are awarded based on finish in championship competition.
Each national champion receives 100 points with a national runner-up finish
worth 90 points. Third place is worth 80 points and fourth place finishes count
for 75 points with a sliding point scale continuing on down by order of
finish.
In other divisions Grand Valley State was the winner in the Division II ranks,
making it six-in-a-row for the Lakers, and Stanford won its 15th straight
Directors' Cup crown at the NCAA Division I level. Azusa Pacific was again the
NAIA winner for 2009.
Calvin picked up 98.75 points during the spring sports season as its women's
track and field took 13th at the NCAA III Championships, while its men's track
and field team took 36th. The finish by the Calvin women's track and field team
was worth 62.25 points in the Director's Cup standings while the finish by the
men's track and field team worth 36.5 points.
Combined, 10 of Calvin's 19 sports teams scored Directors' Cup points during
the 2008-09 academic year.
In addition to its spring sports teams, Calvin received points this year from
its men's and women's soccer teams, its women's volleyball team, its men's and
women's cross country teams its women's swimming and diving teams and its men's
and women's indoor track and field teams.
The final 2008-09 Division III standings can be found on-line at:
http://www.nacda.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/nacda/sports/directorscup/auto_pdf/D3June19
CALVIN YEAR BY YEAR IN DIRECTOR'S CUP STANDINGS
Year Finish Point Total
1995-96 11th 425 points
1996-97 22nd 321.5 points
1997-98 25th 200 points
1998-99 7th 350 points
1999-00 6th 561 points
2000-01 9th 474 points
2001-02 11th 490 points
2002-03 22nd 403.75 points
2003-04 23rd 382.5 points
2004-05 6th 617 points
2005-06 9th 561.25 points
2006-07 8th 713 points
2007-08 24th 483.25 points
2008-09 22nd 541.0 points
WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD/CROSS COUNTRY
For the third consecutive year, recent Calvin College graduate Sarah Wittingen
has been named an ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American. Meanwhile, Calvin
junior Jessica Koster has received ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America
accolades for the first time. Both Calvin student-athletes were named to the
ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America first team in the women's track and
field/cross country college division.
Wittingen and Koster were part of a strong MIAA contingent on the first team
as Hope graduate Nora Kuiper was not only named to the first team but also was
named the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year.
Wittingen and Koster are part of a group of 15 individuals named to the ESPN
The Magazine Academic All-America first team in the college division. The
college division includes NCAA II, NCAA III and NAIA institutions. The ESPN The
Magazine Academic All-America teams are selected by the College Sports
Information Director’sAssociation of America (CoSIDA). To be eligible for
nomination, an individual must be a starter or a key reserve with a minimum
cumulative GPA of 3.30.
A native of East Grand Rapids and a graduate of East Grand Rapids High School,
Wittingen participated on Calvin's indoor track and field team this winter and
ran on the school's All-America 4x400 meter relay team that placed third at the
NCAA III Indoor Track and Field Championships. The All-America berth was the
11th of Wittingen's collegiate career, joining the 10 All-America citations she
received in outdoor track and field. As an outdoor track and field athlete,
Wittingen was a three-time All-American in the 400 meter hurdles including the
2008 national champion in the event with a school record time of .59.36.
Wittingen was recently graduated from Calvin while majoring in accounting.
While a student, she carried a 3.99 grade point average. Wittingen was a second
team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America in 2007 and a first team selection
in 2008.
Koster hails from Grand Rapids and is a graduate of Grand Rapids Christian
High School. A psychology major with plans to go into the field of occupational
therapy, Koster holds a 3.96 grade point average.
A two-time All-MIAA selection in cross country and in track and field, Koster
was the MIAA champion in the 10,000 meters this spring in track and field. She
was also the 2008 MIAA champion in the 5,000 meter run. She qualified for the
2009 NCAA III Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 5,00 meters and
earned All-America accolades, placing fifth.
In cross country, Koster has been a member of Calvin’s top seven at the 2007
and 2008 NCAA III Cross Country Championships, helping Calvin earn a national
runner-up finish in 2008 and a fourth place finish in 2007.
Calvin has now had its athletes receive ESPN The Magazine Academic
All-America accolades 80 times including 49 times in the last 11 years. Calvin
finished the 2008-09 academic year with four ESPN The Magazine Academic
All-Americans as women's swimmer Cara Van Woerkom was a second team selection
as was men's track and field cross country runner Erik Van Kampen.
In a study released by the College Sports Information Director’s Association
of America last summer, Calvin was ranked eighth all-time among NCAA III
institutions for total Academic All-Americans including seventh across all
divisions (NCAA I, II and III) during the decade of the 2000’s.
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Fri Jun 19 17:05:22 2009
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.8 : Fri Jun 19 2009 - 17:05:22 EDT