Leading the SEC
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Another remarkable season on the pitch by the Razorback women’s soccer team has helped Arkansas lead the Southeastern Conference and maintain its spot among the nation’s top 15 intercollegiate athletics programs in the most recent 2016-17 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Standings. Arkansas has earned 180 points and is No. 12 in the rankings released on Thursday by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of America (NACDA). The Directors’ Cup tracks the nation’s most successful intercollegiate athletics programs for their performances throughout the year.
Arkansas is the only SEC program listed in the top 25 of the current standings with only one other SEC program (Ole Miss) even ranking in the top 30. The standings released on Thursday included women’s field hockey, men’s water polo, men’s and women’s cross country and men’s and women’s soccer.
Arkansas head soccer coach Colby Hale led the Razorbacks to an historic 18-5-1 season marked by several program milestones, including finishing ranked No. 19 in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) top 25 poll. The Razorbacks secured wins over two top-five programs at home (No. 2 – Duke, No. 4 – Florida) as well as eight Southeastern Conference victories and a nine-game home win streak, both school records.
The Razorbacks advanced to the championship match of the SEC Tournament, before falling to Florida 2-1 in overtime. Arkansas then hosted its first NCAA Tournament match in program history, earning a thrilling 2-1 win over Memphis in overtime. The Hogs narrowly missed out on a return trip to the NCAA Round of 16 when they fell to Clemson in penalty kicks after battling to a scoreless game through regulation.
Arkansas continued to dominate the cross country scene with both the men and women winning the SEC Cross Country Championship before earning top-20 finishes at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind.
The men’s cross country team capped its season by returning to the top-five of the NCAA Cross Country meet for the first time in a decade. Arkansas was led by the junior tandem of Alex George and Jack Bruce who both secured finishes inside the top 20. The Razorbacks’ top-five team finish was their best performance since 2006 when they also placed fifth at the championships in Terre Haute, Ind. Arkansas earned 75 points for its fifth-place finish and now has ranked in the top 10 nationally in four of the past seven seasons.
Arkansas women’s cross country raced to a 19th-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championship earning 55 points. The Razorbacks were led by Taylor Werner who finished 16th in the individual race. Werner earned All-America honors and was the second highest freshman finisher in the NCAA meet. Arkansas has now finished as a top-20 national cross country power five years in a row, dating back to its 14th-place finish at the 2011 national meet.
Arkansas tallied 820 points and finished 23rd last year in the 2015-16 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, the eighth top 30 finish in the past nine years. The Razorbacks’ also earned a top-25 finish in the final rankings for the sixth time since the previously independent men’s and women’s athletics programs were combined in 2008.
The Directors’ Cup program has been tracking the success of the nation’s top intercollegiate athletics programs since 1993-94.
