MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury College finished fourth among 340 schools that registered points in the 2018-2019 Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup NCAA Division III standings.
The Learfield Cup is awarded annually to the nation’s best overall collegiate athletics program based on their teams’ performance in championship competitions and other factors.
The Panthers earned their 16th-straight top-10 finish in a competition that measures how well institutions fare in NCAA competition. Middlebury won the cup in 2011-12 and has finished in the top five 18 times since 1995-1996.
Williams won its seventh straight title with 1,117 points, followed by Johns Hopkins (1,083.75), Washington-St. Louis (1,032.75), Middlebury (941.75) and Emory (921.50).
Two other NESCAC schools cracked the top 10, with Tufts (884.33) in seventh and Amherst (879.25) in eighth.
Middlebury’s fall season opened with five teams participating in NCAA play. The field hockey team won its second straight NCAA championship, finishing the season with a program-record 21 wins (21-1).
The Panther women’s soccer team won the fourth NESCAC championship in program history and advanced to the NCAA final, ending the year with a program-record 19 victories (19-2-3).
The men’s soccer squad was edged in the opening round of the NCAA tournament and posted a 10-4-3 mark. On the cross-country course, the women placed eighth and the men were 15th at the NCAA championships.
The winter season saw the women’s basketball team earn an NCAA tournament berth for the first time since the 1997-98 season and advance to an NCAA sectional final, posting a record of 20-8.
The Middlebury men’s basketball team earned an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament, ending the season with an 18-8 mark.
The Middlebury ski teams finished 10th at the NCAA championships, while the indoor track and field squads combined for 114.25 points in the Directors’ Cup standings.
Middlebury capped the year with three teams making deep runs into NCAA tournaments during the spring season, including a women’s lacrosse NCAA championship. The lacrosse team finished its spring tying a single-season record with 22 wins (22-1) and also claimed the NESCAC title.
The women’s tennis team advanced to the NCAA semifinals, setting a program mark with its 19 victories (19-3). The Panther men’s tennis team also advanced to the NCAA Semifinals, finishing with a 19-7 record and a NESCAC championship. The outdoor track and field teams each accumulated cup points at the NCAA championships in Ohio.