OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University placed sixth in the NAIA National Association of College Directors of Athletics Director's Cup standings for 2008-09 after the Stars won the national women's golf championship.
OCU captured its fifth consecutive NAIA women's golf crown. In 2008-09, the Stars also reached the NAIA semifinals in men's soccer and women's basketball, placed tied for third in the NAIA World Series and took fourth in men's golf and softball.
Since 1996-97, OCU has nine top-10 finishes in the NAIA Director's Cup standings and has finished in the top 12 nationally for the past 12 consecutive years. The Stars finished their highest this season since taking fourth in 2003-04.
OCU also won the WCWA women's wrestling championship this season to run its national-title total to 36. OCU has taken a national title each year for the past 16 years.
“We really enjoyed a terrific year across the board this year,” OCU athletic director Jim Abbott said. “Finishing in the top 10 in the Director's Cup standings is an outstanding accomplishment and a testament to the efforts of our great coaches and student-athletes. I am equally proud of the fact that our student-athletes were able to maintain a cumulative grade point average above a 3.0 while enjoying such tremendous athletic success.”
Among OCU's athletic achievements in 2008-09:
• Fifth NAIA women's golf championship in a row – most overall in the NAIA and a streak second only to Methodist (N.C.) in the nation (Methodist has won 12 NCAA Division II and III women's golf titles).
• OCU's first Women's College Wrestling Association national championship.
• Second NWCA national dual women's wrestling championship in a row.
• Tied for third in NAIA World Series in baseball.
• Reached NAIA Division I women's basketball semifinals for the ninth time in program history.
• Reached NAIA men's soccer semifinals for the first time ever.
• Fourth-place finish in NAIA softball championships.
• Fourth-place finish in NAIA men's golf championships.
• Reached No. 1 in the NAIA rankings in baseball, men's basketball, and men's and women's golf during this season. Finished as No. 1 in women's golf.
• Championship Opening-Round Tournament title in baseball.
• Regional runner-up finish in men's wrestling.
• Sooner Athletic Conference championships in men's and women's soccer, women's golf and softball plus the conference women's basketball tournament title.
• Forty-nine all-Americans, including 16 in women's wrestling.
• NAIA baseball player of the year and SAC player of the year Brent Weaver. OCU has had five NAIA baseball player of the year honorees, the most of any school.
• NAIA softball player of the year and SAC player of the year Amanda Howard. OCU became the first school to ever have both the NAIA baseball and softball player of the year in the same year.
• NAIA women's golf individual champion Sydney Cox.
• WCWA women's wrestling individual champions Michaela Hutchison, Tessa Plana and Stefenie Shaw.
• American College Rowing Association men's single champion Jimmy Von Peters, men's double champion Drew McNichols and Hugh Tullos and women's double champion Hydi Gibson and Kathryn Schiro.
• SAC volleyball hitter of the year Whitney Kress.
• SAC men's soccer defensive player of the year Chris Spendlove.
• SAC men's soccer goalkeeper and newcomer of the year Andy Fitzpatrick.
• SAC women's soccer defensive player of the year for third year in a row, Zoe Barratt.
• SAC women's basketball newcomer of the year Holly Hardin.
• Fourteen NAIA academic all-America scholar-athletes – achieved 3.50 or better cumulative grade-point average.
• Two-time ESPN the Magazine college-division academic all-Americans Erika Garbrecht in women's soccer and Mindy Crabaugh in softball – there have been only three two-time academic all-Americans ever at OCU. Achieved 3.30 or better cumulative GPA and as selected by College Sports Information Directors of America.
• NAIA coach of the year for the second year in a row, M.J. Desbiens.
• SAC men's and women's soccer coach of the year, Brian Harvey.
More of OCU's athletic achievements:
• Thirty-six national championships.
• Most NAIA championships in men's basketball, women's golf, and softball. Tied for most in men's golf.
• Won national championship in every year since 1993-94 academic year.
• Eleven consecutive 50-win seasons in baseball.
• Winningest baseball program in nation over the past 10 years.
• Winningest women's basketball baseball program in the NAIA over the past 10 years. Second to Connecticut in the nation during that span.
• Most combined men's and women's soccer wins among NAIA programs.
• Fifteen consecutive double-digit win seasons in women's soccer.
• Seven consecutive Sooner Athletic Conference women's golf championships.
Points in the Director's Cup standings are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 12 sports, six men's and six women's. Azusa Pacific (Calif.) won the NAIA Director's Cup for the fifth consecutive year. Click here for the full standings.
