Mountaineers and Bulldogs Hold Leads Following Winter Season
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? Appalachian State University’s men and Samford University’s women have maintained their leads in the races for the Southern Conference’s respective all-sports trophies following the completion of the winter sports season.
The Mountaineers, winners of 29 Commissioner’s Cups overall, including 16 of the last 17 seasons, posted another strong season with a conference championship in indoor track and field and a division title in basketball, to go along with a third-place finish in wrestling. When considering ASU’s league titles in both football and cross country during the fall, it has claimed SoCon championships in four of six sports thus far in 2009-10. Overall, the Mountaineers have 64 points, placing them 19 points ahead of the nearest challenger.
UNC Greensboro jumped three spots to the second spot following a second-place regular season finish in wrestling and two bonus points for winning the wrestling tournament last weekend. The Spartans have 45 points through the winter season.
Chattanooga, the 2010 regular season wrestling champion, is in third place with 41.5 while Davidson sits in fourth with 40.
South Division and tournament basketball champion Wofford (38.5 points) owns the fifth spot and is followed by The Citadel (32.5), Furman (32) Elon (31) and Western Carolina (30). College of Charleston (25), Samford (22) and Georgia Southern (14.5) round out the rankings for the Commissioner’s Cup.
Samford remains atop the rankings in the chase for the Germann Cup with 53 points. The Bulldogs finished in a tie for second place in basketball and placed fourth at the indoor track and field championships.
Appalachian State had a strong winter season to move to within seven points of the Bulldogs with 46. ASU tied Samford for second place in basketball and claimed second in indoor track and field.
Behind the Mountaineers are last year’s winner, College of Charleston (41 points), Elon (38) and Davidson (33.5) in the third through fifth spots, respectively. Furman and Chattanooga are tied for sixth with 31.5 points while UNC Greensboro (30), Western Carolina (29.5), Georgia Southern (28.5), Wofford (16) and The Citadel (10.5) fill out the standings.
The Commissioner’s and Germann Cups are awarded annually to the Southern Conference schools fielding the league’s best all-around men’s and women’s sports programs. Schools earn points based upon its regular season finish, with two bonus points going to the team that wins the conference tournament.
The Commissioner’s Cup was inaugurated in 1970 and the Germann Cup was first awarded in 1987. The latter is named after former SoCon Commissioner, Ken Germann, who served as commissioner of the Southern Conference from 1974-86 and spearheaded the effort to introduce women’s athletics to the league.
Appalachian State has won the Commissioner’s Cup 29 times since entering the SoCon in 1971, earning 16 of the last 17 trophies. Chattanooga won the award in 2004-05.
College of Charleston, the 2008-09 winner of the Germman Cup, is one of just four schools to ever win the trophy, joining Appalachian State, Furman and Chattanooga.
The final cup standings will be announced at the league’s annual Honors Dinner on June 1 in Hilton Head Island, S.C.
Commissioner’s Cup
(through winter men’s sports)
1. Appalachian State 64
2. UNC Greensboro 45
3. Chattanooga 41.5
4. Davidson 40
5. Wofford 38.5
6. The Citadel 32.5
7. Furman 32
8. Elon 31
9. Western Carolina 30
10. College of Charleston 25
11. Samford 22
12. Georgia Southern 14.5
Germann Cup
(through winter women’s sports)
1. Samford 53
2. Appalachian State 46
3. College of Charleston 41
4. Elon 38
5. Davidson 33.5
6t. Furman 31.5
6t. Chattanooga 31.5
8. UNC Greensboro 30
9. Western Carolina 29.5
10. Georgia Southern 28.5
11. Wofford 16
12. The Citadel 10.5