Hope College has maintained its decade-long hold on the Commissioner's Cup of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) by the narrowest of margins.
Hope College has maintained its decade-long hold on the Commissioner's Cup of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) by the narrowest of margins.
The Commissioner's Cup is presented to the league member with the best cumulative finishes in the 18 men's and women's sports sponsored by America's oldest collegiate conference. The NCAA Division III affiliated conference consists of nine schools -- Adrian, Albion, Alma, Calvin, Hope, Kalamazoo, Olivet, Saint Mary's and Trine.
Hope's margin of victory over second place and rival Calvin College was a meer one point, 209-208. Except for a tie in the Cup standings between the same two schools in 2007-08, this is the closest margin in the 76-year-history of the award.
The final standings weren't determined until the final baseball games of the spring season. A four-game Hope sweep of Albion assured the Flying Dutchmen of second place in the baseball standings, two places ahead of Calvin.
It marks the tenth consecutive year that Hope has won or shared the honor, an all-time record. Overall, Hope has won the award a league-record 32 times, including 25 times over the last 30 years.
Hope ended on top of the men's all-sports standings by eight points over Calvin while Calvin won the women's all-sports standings over Hope by seven points.
Hope crowned MIAA champions in four sports -- men's golf, volleyball, women's basketball and men's swimming & diving. The Flying Dutchmen and Flying Dutch displayed amazing competitivness over the year with teams finishing first or second in 14 of the league's 18 sports.
The Commissioner's Cup has been presented since 1934-35. Hope has won the award a record 32 times, followed by Albion 14, Kalamazoo 13, Calvin 9 and Alma 5.
09-10 Commissioner's Cup Standings: 1. Hope 209, 2. Calvin 208, 3. Adrian 130, 4. Albion 128, 5. Alma 98, 5. Trine 98, 7. Kalamazoo 95, 8. Olivet 84.
09-10 Men's Sports Standings: 1. Hope 100, 2. Calvin 92, 3. Albion 66, 4. Adrian 63, 5. Trine 52, 6. Kalamazoo 48, 7. Olivet. 39., 8. Alma 31.
09-10 Women's All-Sports Standings: 1. Calvin 116, 2. Hope 109, 3. Adrian 67, 3. Alma 67, 5. Saint Mary's 66, 6. Albion 62, 7. Kalamazoo 47, 8. Trine 46, 9. Olivet 45.
Hope's 09-10 MIAA Finishes by Sport
Men's Golf, 1st place
Volleyball, 1st place
Women's Basketball, 1st place
Men's Swimming & Diving, 1st place
Men's Soccer, 2nd place
Men's Cross Country, 2nd place
Women's Cross Country, 2nd place
Men's Basketball, 2nd place
Women's Swimming & Diving, 2nd place
Baseball, 2nd place
Men's Tennis, 2nd place
Women's Tennis, 2nd place
Men's Track & Field, 2nd place
Women's Track & Field, 2nd place
Women's Golf, 3rd place
Football, 4th place tie
Softball, 4th place tie
Women's Soccer, 5th place tie
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