Syracuse Fourth in Learfield Directors' Cup Fall Standings
12/5/2016 11:31:00 AM | Field Hockey, General, Men's Cross Country
Syracuse University's men's cross country and field hockey performances in the 2016 NCAA Tournament put the Orange in the fourth spot in the 2016-17 16 National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Learfield Directors' Cup Fall standings. Head coach Chris Fox's cross country team finished third at the NCAA Championship and head coach Ange Bradley guided her field hockey team to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. Syracuse is the top-ranked team from the Atlantic Coast Conference in the standings.
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Head coach Chris Fox guided the Orange to the podium at the NCAA Championship for the second consecutive year. Junior Justyn Knight led the way for the Orange, finished second in the race. His performance tied for the second-best individual finish of any Orange runner in program history, joining Ray Osterhout's second-place finish in 1952. Knight, junior Colin Bennie, who posted his second-straight top-20 finish with a 17th place showing, and senior Joel Hubbard, who finished 34th overall, each earned All-America honors for finishing in the top 40. Fox has led the Orange to the National Championship meet eight times in his 12-year tenure at Syracuse and the Orange has finished in the top 10 in each of the last four years.
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Fox, who led the Orange men to their seventh NCAA Northeast Regional Championship and fourth Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, earned USTFCCCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year for the fourth year in a row and Knight was named USTFCCCA Northeast Region Men's Performer of the Year.
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Field hockey coach Ange Bradley led the Orange back to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth consecutive year. Syracuse lost a hard-fought game, 3-2, in double overtime in the quarterfinals to sixth-ranked Connecticut. Six Orange women earned NFHCA All-Region honors, including Mideast Region First Team selections Laura Hurff, Lies Lagerweij, Regan Spencer and Roos Weers, and second-team honorees Emma Lamison and Nijsje Venrooy. All six student-athletes are candidates for national All-America honors, which will be announced on December 8.
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Hurff, Lagerweij and Weers also earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference First Team honors this season. Hurff, who was named a First Team All-American last season, earned the award for the second time this season. She played in 17 games for the Orange, starting 16 this season and recorded seven goals and two assists. A leader in the Orange attack, Hurff finished second on the team with three game-winning goals.
Lagerweij, one of the Orange's three captains this season, led Syracuse with 13 goals and finished fifth in the ACC in goals per game at 0.68. She also concluded the season eighth in the conference in points per game at 1.47. Lagerweij was also a central figure in the Orange's back-five, finishing the year eighth in the nation in goals against average (1.31).
Weers was Syracuse's top point producer in 2016, she finished the year with 29 points - one ahead of Lagerweij. Her mark of 1.51 points per game ranked seventh in the ACC, scoring 11 goals and chipping in seven assists (both marks which ranked second on the Orange). Weers also was a key contributor on the nation's eighth-best defense in goals against average.
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In her first season of significant playing time, Spencer concluded the season ninth nationally in goals against average (1.33) and 19th in save percentage (.737). In both categories, she finished the year ranked second in the ACC.
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In addition to the men's cross country and field hockey teams, the Orange men's soccer team will also score points for Syracuse in the Directors' Cup. Syracuse advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 where it lost to North Carolina, 1-0. The updated standings will be announced December 15.
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Head coach Chris Fox guided the Orange to the podium at the NCAA Championship for the second consecutive year. Junior Justyn Knight led the way for the Orange, finished second in the race. His performance tied for the second-best individual finish of any Orange runner in program history, joining Ray Osterhout's second-place finish in 1952. Knight, junior Colin Bennie, who posted his second-straight top-20 finish with a 17th place showing, and senior Joel Hubbard, who finished 34th overall, each earned All-America honors for finishing in the top 40. Fox has led the Orange to the National Championship meet eight times in his 12-year tenure at Syracuse and the Orange has finished in the top 10 in each of the last four years.
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Fox, who led the Orange men to their seventh NCAA Northeast Regional Championship and fourth Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, earned USTFCCCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year for the fourth year in a row and Knight was named USTFCCCA Northeast Region Men's Performer of the Year.
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Field hockey coach Ange Bradley led the Orange back to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth consecutive year. Syracuse lost a hard-fought game, 3-2, in double overtime in the quarterfinals to sixth-ranked Connecticut. Six Orange women earned NFHCA All-Region honors, including Mideast Region First Team selections Laura Hurff, Lies Lagerweij, Regan Spencer and Roos Weers, and second-team honorees Emma Lamison and Nijsje Venrooy. All six student-athletes are candidates for national All-America honors, which will be announced on December 8.
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Hurff, Lagerweij and Weers also earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference First Team honors this season. Hurff, who was named a First Team All-American last season, earned the award for the second time this season. She played in 17 games for the Orange, starting 16 this season and recorded seven goals and two assists. A leader in the Orange attack, Hurff finished second on the team with three game-winning goals.
Lagerweij, one of the Orange's three captains this season, led Syracuse with 13 goals and finished fifth in the ACC in goals per game at 0.68. She also concluded the season eighth in the conference in points per game at 1.47. Lagerweij was also a central figure in the Orange's back-five, finishing the year eighth in the nation in goals against average (1.31).
Weers was Syracuse's top point producer in 2016, she finished the year with 29 points - one ahead of Lagerweij. Her mark of 1.51 points per game ranked seventh in the ACC, scoring 11 goals and chipping in seven assists (both marks which ranked second on the Orange). Weers also was a key contributor on the nation's eighth-best defense in goals against average.
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In her first season of significant playing time, Spencer concluded the season ninth nationally in goals against average (1.33) and 19th in save percentage (.737). In both categories, she finished the year ranked second in the ACC.
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In addition to the men's cross country and field hockey teams, the Orange men's soccer team will also score points for Syracuse in the Directors' Cup. Syracuse advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 where it lost to North Carolina, 1-0. The updated standings will be announced December 15.
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Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Cross Country
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/ Field Hockey
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