MACON, Ga., March 19 -- The University of North Florida issued the following press release:
Following the completion of the winter sports regular season, the University of North Florida sits in second place in the current Atlantic Sun All-Sports Standings.
The Ospreys, who finished a program best third last season, are just 21 points behind current leader Belmont in the chase for the Bill Bibb Trophy. UNF is the lone program among the top eight squads without a regular season championship this season.
Belmont holds the top spot in the Atlantic Sun All-Sports Standings in front of a tightly-bunched trio including UNF. Florida Gulf Coast, with championships in men's and women's soccer as well as women's basketball, is just behind the Ospreys with 142.5 points. ETSU, the five-time winner of the Bibb Trophy, has 138 points with its share of the women's soccer regular season championship.
A total of only nine points separate the next four teams, as Lipscomb claimed a share of the volleyball championship along with the women's cross country title to occupy fifth place with 129 points. With its men's cross country victory, USC Upstate trails the Bison by only 1.5 points at 127.5. Jacksonville added a share of the title in women's soccer and its seventh straight women's indoor track and field championship to place seventh with 126 points. Kennesaw State occupies eighth position as men's indoor track and field champions with 120 points. Mercer and Stetson follow with 96 and 84 points, respectively.
USC Upstate and Belmont have nudged perennial champion ETSU into third position in the Jesse C. Fletcher Trophy standings, the award going to the school in the A-Sun with the best overall men's sport finishing in the 2011-12 season. The Spartans totaled 30 points from their cross country championship, 7.5 from soccer, 12 from indoor track and field and 25.5 from its turnaround basketball season for 75 points. Mercer added 25.5 points on the strength of one of its best basketball seasons in history, along with 12 from cross country and 18 from soccer to sit in fourth with 55.5 points.
Through completion of the winter seasons, USC Upstate and Lipscomb have each made the most significant moves, with both up sixspots from their 2010-11 results. The Spartans finished seventh last season, while the Bison finished 11th and are now in fifth with 54 points.
FGCU, which also won the regular season title in men's soccer, is in a tie for sixth with North Florida in the Fletcher Trophy standings with 49.5 points. UNF is down from its third-place finish a year ago, but usually scores well in its spring sports, claiming the tennis title and a second-place finish in golf in 2010-11. Indoor track and field champion Kennesaw State follows with 48 points, while Stetson and Jacksonville round out the standings with 37.5 points and 31.5 points, respectively.
Belmont also claims the top spot in the Sherman Day Trophy standings, the award going to the school in the A-Sun with the best overall women's sport finishing in the 2011-12 season, with a total of 100.5 points. The Bruins have made the biggest move from last year's standings, as they finished 9th of 11 in 2010-11. They have secured their latest ranking on the strength of their share in the volleyball title along with strong showings in cross country, soccer and basketball. In-town rivals Jacksonville and North Florida are tied in second position with 94.5 points. Jacksonville has claimed the Sherman Day Trophy in three of the last four seasons, and this year claimed a share of women's soccer along with their seventh indoor track and field title. FGCU claimed a share of women's soccer and the basketball championship, along with a strong effort in volleyball to trail closely at 93 points.
Another tie rounds out the top six spots in the rankings, as Lipscomb and ETSU occupy fifth position with 75 points. The Lady Bison claimed a championship in cross country and a share of volleyball, while the Lady Bucs owned a share of the championship in women's soccer.
Kennesaw State, who has finished in the top four each of the last three seasons, sits in seventh place with 72 points, just three points in back of Lipscomb and ETSU. USC Upstate comes in eighth with 52.5 points, while Stetson ranks ninth with 46.5 points. Mercer rounds out the list with 40.5 points.
Points for the all-sports standings are awarded on a descending basis in three-point increments and are established according to the number of teams participating in each sport. In team sports, points are awarded based on a school's regular season finish. In individual sports, such as cross country, golf, and track and field, points are awarded based on their A-Sun Championship standings. In the event of a tie, the two schools split the combined points. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com
