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LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Mercyhurst College sits in ninth place of the annual Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Dixon Trophy standings, as announced by league officials today. Based on the completion of the fall sports season for the 2009-10 academic year, the Lakers earned 57.5 points towards the athletics department’s overall point total.
Given on an annual basis to conference’s most successful athletics program, the Dixon Trophy is named after F. Eugene Dixon, Jr., former chairman of the Board of Governors of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. Each year it is awarded to the PSAC member institution that accumulates the most points based on results of conference playoffs and/or regular-season records. Each institution's point total is calculated by adding its top six men's finishes and top six women's finishes in 22 conference sports.
Shippensburg University currently leads the race with 79 points, followed by Bloomsburg at 75 points and defending trophy winner California at 74.5 points.
The Lakers earned their points with the help of three fall teams qualifying for their respective postseason conference tournaments. Men’s soccer, women’s soccer and field hockey each earned 11.5 points for their finishes.
Men’s soccer won the Western Division regular season champion and went on to host a PSAC semifinal match against Slippery Rock, missing out on the championship game by way of a 6-5 advantage by The Rock in penalty kicks after a 2-2 double overtime tie.
Women’s soccer advanced to the quarterfinals of its tournament before suffering a 1-0 setback to rival IUP.
Meanwhile, field hockey continued its assault on the record books as the Lakers finished the season ranked No. 9 after spending much of the year ranked in the top 10, including a No .10 ranking in the preseason poll. The Lakers also qualified for the PSAC Tournament for the first time in school history.
Women’s volleyball added 6.5 points for the Lakers, narrowly missing out on a berth in the PSAC Tournament, but the squad’s success against a very strong in-region schedule afforded the Lakers a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year.
Also adding points for the Mercyhurst total were women’s cross country (5), men’s cross country (3), football (3), and men’s golf.
In 2008-09, the Lakers first year in the PSAC, Mercyhurst finished 10th in the final Dixon Trophy standings.