University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Lead All ACC Schools in Final Sears Cup Standings
June 19, 2001 | General
June 19, 2001
The University of North Carolina finished 15th in the country in the final Sears Cup standings. The 15th-place finish was the highest of any of the nine Atlantic Coast Conference institutions. The Tar Heels scored 728.5 points and finished seven and one-half points ahead of 16th-place Duke.
The Sears Cup compiles standings based on individual schools' finishes at NCAA postseason competition in 35 different sports.
Carolina's finish marked the seventh time in the eight-year history of the competition in which UNC was the highest-finishing ACC school. The Tar Heels won the inaugural Sears Cup in 1994. Stanford has won the Cup in each of the last seven years, including 2000-01 when the Cardinal topped all challengers with 1349.5 points.
"I am very proud of our coaches and student-athletes for another Top 20 national finish and the No. 1 ranking among all Atlantic Coast Conference schools," says Director of Athletics Dick Baddour. "We had another outstanding fall with three sports placing in the top five and that got us off to a great start. We didn't have as strong a winter or spring as we have had in the past, but we still scored in 11 of those sports. Our teams competed hard, and excelled in the classroom, which is our top priority. Our student-athletes demonstrated again they can be successful competitively without compromising academic integrity."
Carolina was in first place in the standings after the fall and was 10th after the winter. The Tar Heels scored points in five fall sports, four winter events and seven spring programs. Women's soccer led all scoring sports with 100 points as the Tar Heels won the NCAA title by defeating UCLA, 2-1. Field hockey advanced to the national championship game and collected 90 points.
Other sports that earned Top 10 finishes included men's soccer (fifth place, 50 points), women's lacrosse (fifth place, 40 points), women's swimming and diving (ninth place, 65 points) and women's indoor track and field (10th place, 74 points). Other scorers included women's cross country (12th place, 50 points), volleyball (33rd place, 20 points), men's basketball (17th place, 30 points), fencing (17th place, 35 points), women's golf (55th place, 28 points), men's golf (41st place, 42 points), softball (25th place, 30 points), women's tennis (17th place, 30 points), men's tennis (33rd place, 20 points), and men's outdoor track and field (57th place, 24.5 points). Track and field points were counted at either the indoor or outdoor track championships, but not both.
The Tar Heels have posted six Top 10 finishes and eight Top 20 finishes in the eight-year history of the Sears Cup. In addition to winning the Cup in 1994, UNC was second in 1995, sixth in 1996, second in 1997, tied for second in 1998, tied for 17th in 1999, fifth in 2000 and 15th in 2001.
Other ACC finishers were Duke (16th), Virginia (30th), Wake Forest (33rd), Clemson (34th), Florida State (35th), Maryland (40th), NC State (56th) and Georgia Tech (61st).
Nationally, Stanford was followed in the Top 10 by UCLA, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Ohio State, Florida, Southern California, Arizona State and Penn State. Notre Dame, California, Nebraska, Washington and North Carolina rounded out the Top 15.
The Tar Heels also won seven ACC championships this year, tying Duke for top conference honors. This year marked the 14th consecutive season in which Carolina at least tied for the most number of ACC championships won by any school.
