ERIE, Pa. -- Mercyhurst College has finished the 2008-09 academic year ranked 24th nationally in the final standings of the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, as announced by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).
The Lakers amassed 436 overall points and were one of just three Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference institutions to rank in the top 25 overall. Grand Valley State (Mich.) won the Director’s Cup for the sixth-straight season with 1,014.50 points, followed by Minnesota State Mankato (800.25) and Central Missouri (776.00).
The 2008-09 sports year was historic on all levels for Mercyhurst squads as they advanced 13 teams to their respective conference tournaments. Of those teams, seven continued their seasons in NCAA regional play while four individuals -- three wrestlers and one men's golfer -- also earned a berth in the NCAA postseason.
Two women's teams brought home conference titles as the Lakers Division I women's ice hockey program won their seventh-consecutive College Hockey America crown and the women's soccer program hoisted the PSAC trophy in its first year as a full-time member of the PSAC after Mercyhurst ended a 13-year affiliation with the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
On the national scene, the Lakers flourished as the women's ice hockey team entered the NCAA postseason for the fifth-straight year and won its first-ever tournament game for the right to go to the NCAA Frozen Four. In Boston, Mercyhurst stunned powerhouse Minnesota to take a 5-4 semifinal victory before falling to Wisconsin in the national championship game.
Also excelling on the national stage was sophomore wrestler Josh Shields. His national championship at 165-pounds was the Lakers first-ever individual title and helped put the exclamation mark on the winter sports season.
At the NCAA Rowing Championships, the Lakers varsity eight and varsity four combined to give Mercyhurst a second-place finish in the team standings after the varsity eight took second and the varsity four captured a bronze medal.
In regional action, women’s soccer finished the season ranked No. 9 in the final poll after the Lakers posted the most successful postseason run in program history, winning the PSAC tournament before winning twice in the NCAA tournament.
The Lakers baseball team returned to NCAA play for the first time since 2000 and recorded its best-ever showing in the regional tournament, capturing second place just one weekend after capturing silver in the PSAC Tournament.
Junior golfer Tyler Bidwell also helped to snap a dry spell for the men’s golf team, becoming the first Mercyhurst golfer to qualify for the NCAA regional since current women’s assistant golf coach and former Laker Dave Hewett did so in 1987.
Meanwhile, the women’s lacrosse and women’s volleyball teams both entered the NCAA postseason for the first time in school history.
By The Numbers:
1 National Champion
2 National Runner-Up Finishes
7 Teams Earn NCAA berths
12 Teams Earn PSAC berths
7 Coaches of the Year
4 Athletes of the Year
2 Rookies of the Year
50 All-conference selections