The LU women Athletes were led by the cross country team that ran away with the MWC title and the soccer team which recorded its best record ever en route to the second round of the NCAA tournament. (Sports Information Office)
The Lawrence University women’s athletic teams all had remarkable seasons this year.This was proven this past week when the Viking women were awarded the 2001-2002 Midwest Conference All-Sports Championship.
The Championship goes to the school that had the best year for athletics, based on its finishes in the Midwest Conference.
The Vikings had seventy points, three and a half more than second place St. Norbert and four-time defending champion Carroll, who had 66.5.
Points are awarded based on the team’s finish either in the regular season conference standings or in the conference tournaments. A school receives ten points for first, nine for second, and so on.
This is the first title for the Vikings since 1992 when they tied with Beloit, and third title ever. They also won the award in 1990.
The 2001-2002 season was an impressive one for LU women’s athletics. The women participated in all three conference tournaments: soccer, basketball, and softball. The Vikings had only one team finish worse than fourth in the conference.
In the fall, the soccer team finished tied for first and won the conference tournament. Volleyball had their highest finish ever, finishing third. The tennis team finished eighth, moving up a spot from a year ago.
In the winter, the swimming and diving team finished second, the basketball team finished third and advanced to the conference tournament, and the indoor track team also finished third.
In the spring, the Vikings were aided by the softball team’s first place finish in the Northern Division and fourth place finish in the tournament. The outdoor track team also finished third to put the icing on the cake.
The Viking men took eighth place in their all-sports standings. Grinnell won the men’s title with 76 points, while the Vikings had 46.
(Sports Information Office)