LAKE CHARLES, La. — For the first time in school history, Lamar University has won the Southland Conference Women's All-Sports Trophy announced league officials Wednesday morning at the conference spring meetings.
Riding the success of team titles in soccer and outdoor track and field, and strong finishes in cross country, indoor track and field and basketball the Cardinals scored 64.5 points to tie Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Cardinals trailed the Islanders going into the final championship of the season, outdoor track and field, but the women's team brought home the title outdistancing the Islanders by eight spots in the standings to tie for all-sports lead.
In addition, the Cardinals saw improved finishes in golf, tennis and softball from their previous year in the Southland helping earn more points in the final standings.
The Cardinals finished second overall in the SLC Commissioner's Cup standings which combines the success of both the men's and women's sports for the season. Big Red finished second to UIW by just 10.5 points.
"This is a historic day for Lamar University athletics," said LU Director of Athletics Jeff O'Malley. "Among all the great accomplishments our teams have had over the years, this group is the first to bring home the women's all-sports trophy. Our coaches and student-athletes have done a great job to make this happen. I'm so proud of each of them."
The Commissioner's Cup and men's and women's all-sports trophies were created in 2002 as a way to judge the overall combined success of each league school across all sports. A team title is worth 10 points, runner-up finish is worth nine and so on down the standings. For the Commissioner's Cup, the men's and women's scores are combined.