CMS Earns Top-10 Finish (Eighth) in Learfield Directors' Cup Standings

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Claremont-Mudd-Scripps moved back into the top 10 in the final NCAA Division III Learfield Directors' Cup standings, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics announced today.

CMS ended in 12th place in the last full season of competition in 2018-19, one year after its highest-ever finish (third) in 2017-18, when the department won national championships in volleyball, women's tennis and women's golf. The eighth-place finish was the highest in the SCIAC, ahead of the 14th place earned by Pomona-Pitzer, and represents the ninth year in a row that CMS has finished in the top 15 (not counting the two-year hiatus from the COVID-19 pandemic). 

Eight CMS programs earned top-10 NCAA finishes in their respective sports this season, led by the national championship from women's tennis in the spring. Women's cross country earned a second-place finish in the fall, finishing just two points out of first place, while volleyball ended up tied for third after reaching the national semifinals. Men's golf also tied for third in the spring, while men's tennis was tied for fifth after reaching the national quarterfinals. 

Men's cross country added a top-10 finish in the fall by coming in sixth place, men's swimming and diving earned a top-10 in the winter by coming in eighth place, while women's golf ended in ninth place at its NCAA Championship in the spring. Women's swimming and diving just missed making the top 10 as well, coming in 11th at nationals. Men's and women's water polo were not included in the Learfield Cup standings, since the Division III postseason championship is not an NCAA-sponsored event. 

CMS also earned Learfield Cup points from women's lacrosse, which tied for 17th by advancing to the second round of its tournament, while men's and women's track and field both picked up points with multiple All-Americans. 

CMS finished with 858 points to place eighth, buoyed by 444 points in the spring season. CMS had the second-most spring points in the country, behind only the 448 earned by Tufts, which won the Learfield Cup for the first time with 1080 points. 

Tufts was followed in the team standings by Johns Hopkins in second place with 1043 points, while Middlebury, MIT, Washu, Williams and Chicago placed in front of CMS in the 3-7 spots. Emory came in ninth place, 11.5 points behind CMS, and Stevens rounded out the top 10. CMS was 115 points ahead of Pomona-Pitzer (743 points) in the battle for the top SCIAC department, while Redlands also cracked the top 50 in 49th place (360.50 points).