CLEVELAND – Middlebury (Vt.) took the top place in the first set of spring Division III Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Standings with 811.00 total points. The Panthers increased their position with a third place finish in women's lacrosse and a 21st place finish in men's golf.
Amherst (Mass.) is now in second place with 757.75 total points. The Lord Jeffs placed ninth in women's lacrosse and 25th place in softball.
Sitting in third place is Washington (Mo.) with 744.50 total points. The Bears finished 13th in women's golf.
The Ephs from Williams (Mass.) are in fourth place with 603.00 total points. Williams finished fifth in women's golf.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology rounds out the top five with 542.75 total points. The Engineers have not scored any points in the spring championships to date.
The New England Small College Athletic Conference has four institutions in the top 10. Following first place Middlebury (Vt.) is Amherst (Mass.) in second, Williams (Mass.) in fourth and Tufts (Mass.) in ninth.
To date, five spring NCAA championships have been completed with the following institutions capturing titles: women's golf - Methodist (N.C.); men's golf - Ogelthorpe (Ga.); women's lacrosse - Trinity (Conn.); softball - Pacific Lutheran (Wash.); men's volleyball - Springfield (Mass.).
The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 18 sports -- nine women's and nine men's.
The final Division III standings will be published June 7.
Please note, standings published midseason are unofficial. Official standings will be published upon the completion of the spring season. Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on NACDA's website at www.directorscup.org. In addition, please visit www.thedirectorscup.com, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/lsdirectorscup or follow us on Twitter @lsdirectorscup.
About Learfield Sports: The 2011-12 athletics
season marks its fourth year as title partner of the Learfield Sports
Directors' Cup. A preeminent leader in the collegiate sports marketplace for
nearly four decades, Learfield Sports manages the multimedia rights for more
than 50 collegiate properties, including flagship Mizzou, which it has
represented since 1975. An operating unit of Learfield Communications, the
company also operates regional and statewide radio networks, provides exclusive
sports programming to more than 1,000 radio stations nationwide and creates
nearly 7,000 radio game broadcasts and coaches' shows each year. These
ever-expanding, collegiate relationships also feature comprehensive corporate
sponsorship platforms, official university publications, Internet, digital
media, hospitality and game-day events. To learn more about Learfield Sports'
expertise, its history and complete collegiate portfolio, visit www.learfieldsports.com.
NACDA Contact: Julie Work, Assistant Executive Director
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