CLEVELAND, Ohio. – Another successful fall campaign has placed the Embry-Riddle Athletics program among the top five athletics programs in the NAIA according to the first Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Standings of 2011-12 released by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics on Thursday. The Eagles are currently in fourth place with 212 points and hold the distinction of being one of only two schools in the nation in any division (NCAA I, II, II or NAIA) to have all of their fall sports advanced to a national tournament.
The men's and women's cross country teams were the first to hit the national stage after capturing their respective conference titles. The men's team made its seventh straight appearance at the NAIA National Championships after pulling off one of the more impressive upsets in program history when they raced past SCAD Savannah in The Sun Conference Championships. The Eagles finished 28th at the National Championship meet, led by junior Evans Kirwa who finished sixth and earned his second career All-American honor. Kirwa put together the best individual season in ERAU history, winning six of the eight races the Eagles raced in and was just the second NAIA cross country runner to earn National Runner of the Week honors three times in one season.
The women's cross country squad ran to its sixth consecutive Sun Conference title, easily outpacing the rest of the conference en route to a bid to the NAIA National Championships. The women finished 24th at the National Championship, paced by junior Karina Coelho and sophomore Ellie Staker.
The men's soccer team earned a share of the conference regular season title and earned the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. The Eagles dispatched Florida Memorial 2-0 and won the conference tournament title with an overtime win against SCAD Savannah to secure a berth in the national tournament field. Though left short-handed due to injury, the Eagles battled back from a 2-0 halftime deficit against national semifinalist William Carey in the National Championship Opening Round. Although the Eagles were able to tie the score at 2-2, they were unable to hold off the Crusaders whose late goal ended ERAU's season at 13-5-2.
The 2011 Embry-Riddle volleyball squad accomplished a number of firsts in program history. The Eagles achieved a No. 2 national ranking, the highest in ERAU volleyball history, and went through the entire regular season conference slate and conference tournament without losing a single set (42-0). Most importantly, the Blue and Gold reached the Elite Eight stage of the NAIA National Championship, the farthest that ERAU volleyball has progressed in the tournament. Led by Conference Player of the Year Abby Hall, who set a new ERAU career kills record (1,715), the Blue and Gold captured its fourth straight regular season conference title and second straight conference tournament crown, earning a berth in the NAIA National Championship final site for the second straight year. The Eagles reached the Elite Eight before falling to eventual national champion Texas at Brownsville in three sets in a quarterfinal match.
The women's soccer team also celebrated several firsts in 2011. After finishing second behind Northwood in The Sun Conference regular season standings, the Eagles blanked SCAD Savannah 2-0 and held off St. Thomas 2-1 in double overtime to capture the conference tournament title for the third year in a row. The conference tournament win gave the Blue and Gold an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament, and the program's best ever national ranking of No. 9 gave the team the right to host an Opening Round contest. The Eagles topped Judson in their Opening Round contest to advance to the second round for only the second time in program history and continued to set program marks with a 3-1 defeat of Olivet Nazarene to make the first quarterfinal appearance in ERAU women's soccer history. The Eagles fell to four-time defending national champion Lee in the quarterfinal round and closed out the season with a program record 18 wins (18-3-1). The 2011 squad also sent single-season records for point (210) and goals (73), while sophomore Martine Olsen set a new mark for goals scored in a single season with 27.
Defending Directors' Cup champion Azusa Pacific is back at the top of the listing with 299 points following top-10 finishes in women's cross country (2nd), women's soccer (3rd), men's soccer (9th) and volleyball (5th). Cal State San Marcos, the only other team to send all five of their fall teams to a national tournament, is second with 265 points, while Concordia (Ore.) (217), Embry-Riddle and Lee (203) round out the top five.
The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between NACDA and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's national finish in up to 12 sports – six men's and six women's.
