Four teams played in the NCAA Tournament this year, three of which won Landmark Conference titles.
This past fall, the University’s field hockey, women’s soccer and volleyball teams qualified for NCAAs, with both field hockey and women’s soccer advancing to the Sweet 16.
This winter, the women’s basketball team joined those teams in qualifying for the NCAA Tournament as the Lady Royals won a seventh straight Landmark Conference title.
“We are thrilled and very proud of the success we had competitively this year. To have four different teams qualify for the NCAA Championships and have three of them advance to the Sweet 16 is quite an accomplishment,” said Dave Martin, executive director of Athletics. “This reflects the commitment and dedication of our coaches and student-athletes.”
The field hockey team captured its second straight conference title and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history, following a 3-2 win in overtime against Ursinus in the first round of NCAAs. The team also won a single-season program record 18 games.
Women’s soccer put together a historic 18-1-1 season that culminated in the program’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 2003, following victories over Nazareth and SUNY Geneseo. The team won 14 straight matches to start the year and notched its fourth conference title in the last six seasons.
On the volleyball court, the Royals posted an impressive 25-8 record and advanced to the Landmark Championship match to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005. Throughout the year, the Royals defeated four other teams that received bids in the field of 64 with wins over Clarkson, Ithaca (twice), Stevens and Stevenson.
The women’s basketball program compiled a 27-3 record this season, including a 21-game winning streak, and earned a Sweet 16 berth with NCAA victories over New Jersey City and Babson. The Lady Royals secured the Landmark’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with a victory over Catholic, the program’s seventh straight conference title.
Individually, the Royals have seen several student-athletes find success as senior Jessica Hoffmann became the third student-athlete in the history of the women’s cross country program to qualify for the NCAA Championship Meet.
Each of the four NCAA Tournament teams saw a student-athlete garner All-American accolades with Allie Benadon (field hockey), Eryn Boken (volleyball), Hope Drewes/Teresa Hegarty (women’s soccer) and Abby Anderson/Bridget Monaghan (women’s basketball).