NORTH ANDOVER, MA – Featuring six NCAA Tournament
appearances and three Northeast-10 runner-ups, Merrimack placed
fifth of 15 schools in the 2008-09 Northeast-10 President’s
Cup Standings.
A closer look at the facts, however, suggests the Warriors fared
better than the standings indicate, considering they, along with
UMass Lowell, compete in just 15 sports, the fewest among the top
five schools.
In fact, if just the 15 sports played at Merrimack were taken into
account, the Warriors would have finished second with 132 points,
five behind Bentley University. Merrimack finished in the top five
in 11 sports (Men’s Basketball, Men’s Cross Country,
Football, Men’s Lacrosse, Women’s Lacrosse, Softball,
Men’s Soccer, Women’s Soccer, Volleyball, Men’s
Tennis, and Women’s Tennis).
Six teams, Men’s Basketball, Men’s Lacrosse,
Women’s Soccer, Volleyball, Men’s Tennis and
Women’s Tennis, qualified for the NCAA Tournament, while
Volleyball, Men’s Tennis and Men’s Lacrosse each played
for the Northeast-10 Championship.
| President's Cup Standings | |
| 1 - Bentley University | 165 |
| 2 - Stonehill College | 152.5 |
| 3 - So. Connecticut St. Univ. | 139 |
| 4 - UMass Lowell | 138.5 |
| 5 - MERRIMACK | 131 |
| 6 - Le Moyne College | 116.5 |
| 7 - Southern New Hampshire | 112.5 |
| 8 - College of Saint Rose | 107.5 |
| 9 - Assumption College | 106 |
| 10-Univ. of New Haven | 100.5 |
| 11-American International | 95 |
| 12-Franklin Pierce Univ. | 93 |
| 13-Saint Anselm College | 86 |
| 14-Saint Michael's College | 85 |
| 15-Pace University | 58 |
Four coaches, Gabe Mejail (Women’s Soccer), Joey
Pacis (Volleyball), Chris Stevens (Men’s Tennis), and Elaine
Schwager (Softball), earned Northeast-10 Coach of the Year
honors, while Caitlin Hall, from the Women’s
Soccer team, was named the Northeast-10 Female Scholar Athlete of
the Year.
Bentley claimed the 2008-2009 Presidents’ Cup, which was
announced Monday evening at the conference’s end of the year
awards banquet in Mystic, Conn. The Falcons registered 165 points
to win the Presidents’ Cup for the first time since the
2002-2003 academic year. This marks the eighth time overall that
the Falcons have won the coveted award including a four-year run
from 1995-1996 through 1998-1999.
Stonehill College finished second overall in the Presidents’
Cup standings after collecting 152.5 points. Southern Connecticut
State University earned 139 points to finish third in the
Presidents’ Cup standings just ahead of the University of
Massachusetts Lowell with 138.5 points.
The rest of the field includes in order, Le Moyne College (116.5),
Southern New Hampshire University (112.5), the College of Saint
Rose (107.5), Assumption College (106), University of New Haven
(100.5), American International College (95), Franklin Pierce
University (93), Saint Anselm College (86), Saint Michael’s
College (85) and Pace University (58).
Merrimack last won the President’s Cup in 1999-00 and
finished second in 2000-01. Bryant University, now in the Northeast
Conference (Division I), had won four of the last five
championships.
The Presidents’ Cup is presented annually to signify overall
athletic excellence in the Northeast-10 Conference and is awarded
to the institution that compiles the most points based on the
placement at the conclusion of the regular season of each of its
programs which compete in league championships. Points for
men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and
women’s swimming & diving, men’s and women’s
indoor and outdoor track & field and men’s golf are
awarded based on placement in respective conference
championships.
With 15 member institutions, the Northeast-10 is the second
largest NCAA Division II athletic conference in the nation. Its 23
championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500
student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II
conference.