2006 Little East Conference Commissioner Cup Keene State Captures Sixth Consecutive Title
PROVIDENCE, RI 5/23/2006 - Keene State College averaged 6.5946 points to finish ahead of runner-up Eastern Connecticut (5.9459 points) and capture its sixth consecutive Little East Conference Commissioner’s Cup.
Keene State, which captured three team titles during the course of the 2005-‘06 competitive year, has now won the Commissioner’s Cup in each of the six years it has been presented. The Owls won all of its conference titles in the fall as the men’s cross country, women’s cross country and field hockey teams won championships. The Owls were unable to gain any championships during the winter or spring but had all but one team finish in the upper half of the standings in each respective sport.
“You don’t win the honor as the top program in your conference six straight years without the hard work and dedication of talented student athletes and a committed coaching staff and this season was no exception,” said KSC athletic director John Ratliff.
Keene State held off a late charge from Eastern Connecticut who finished second, matching its best Commissioner’s Cup placement. There were a conference-best six LEC Titles won by the Warriors during the year. ECSU captured the women’s soccer, volleyball, men’s indoor track & field, men’s outdoor track & field, men’s lacrosse and baseball tournament championships.
Southern Maine, for the third consecutive year, finished third with an average of 5.1966 points. The Huskies were triumphant once again in women’s basketball, captured the men’s tennis championship and won both the women’s indoor track & field and outdoor track & field titles. Rhode Island College followed closely in fourth with an average of 5.0505 points as it took home the women’s tennis and softball tournament championships.
Plymouth State, winners of the women’s lacrosse tournament title, earned a fifth place finish with an average of 4.9655 points. Western Connecticut fell to sixth this year as they averaged 4.2609 points and captured the men’s soccer title. UMass Dartmouth, who once again took home the swimming and diving championship, finished seventh (3.3443) while UMass Boston, who captured the men’s basketball title, placed eighth (3.1392) to round out the Commissioner’s Cup standings.
The Commissioner’s Cup measures an institution’s overall performance in the 19 sports sponsored by the conference. For sports in which the Little East conducts in-season play (baseball, basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball), point totals are determined by the order of finish in the final regular-season standings, with bonus points awarded to the champion of the ensuing post-season conference tournament. For sports that do not conduct in-season play (cross country, indoor track, outdoor track, and swimming) points are awarded based on the order of finish at the conference championship.
The Little East Conference completed its 20th year of athletic competition during the 2005-‘06 academic year. Initially formed in 1986 as a six-team men’s and women’s basketball conference, the Little East has since grown to its present eight-school membership, sponsoring championship play in 19 intercollegiate athletics: baseball; men’s and women’s basketball; men’s and women’s cross country; field hockey; men’s and women’s lacrosse; men’s and women’s soccer; softball; women’s swimming; men’s and women’s tennis; men’s and women’s indoor track; men’s and women’s outdoor track and women’s volleyball.
