Four Post-Season Invitations Lead 'Cuse to Top 20 Directors' Cup Fall Ranking
1/11/2019 10:51:00 AM | General
Syracuse University is 19th in the 2018-19 National Association of Collegiate Director of Athletics [NACDA} Learfield Directors' Cup Fall standings. Propelled by four Orange teams advancing to the postseason, Syracuse is ranked in the top 20 in the fall standings for the seventh time in the last nine years. The football team's Camping World Bowl Championship, the men's cross country team's 26th-place finish at the NCAA Championship, and the NCAA Tournament appearances by the men's soccer and volleyball teams scored 208 points. Syracuse is one of eight Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) teams to rank in the top 20, which is the most of any league. The Pac 12 was next with five.
Â
Head coach Dino Babers' Orange football team closed the season ranked 15th nationally after its 34-18 victory against West Virginia in the Camping World Bowl. It's the first time Syracuse has appeared in the final college football rankings since finishing 14th at the conclusion of the 2001 season. Babers, who signed a long-term contract extension in December, was a finalist for three national coach of the year awards.
Â
The Orange ranked 11th nationally in scoring offense (40.2 ppg) and shattered the program record with 523 points in 13 games. In addition, they matched the school single-season record with 62 total touchdowns, including a record 38 rushing scores. Defensively, Syracuse finished third in the FBS in turnovers gained (31), fifth in interceptions (18), fifth in fumbles recovered (13), and sixth in sacks (3.31 per game). The Orange's 43 sacks were the most in program history.
Â
The men's cross country team earned its fourth consecutive NCAA Championship invitation. First-year head coach Brien Bell guided the squad to a 26th-place finish. Sophomore Joe Dragon paced the team with a 90th-place finish. Aidan Tooker, Simon Smith, Nathan Henderson and Noah Affolder all competed for the Orange.
Â
Head coach Ian McIntyre led the Orange to their sixth NCAA Tournament, and fifth in the last seven years. The 16th-seeded Orange lost to eventual national finalist Akron in the first round, 3-1. Three Syracuse players earned All-ACC honors, including sophomore Tajon Buchanan (All-ACC First Team), senior Kamal Miller (All-ACC Third Team), and Ryan Raposo (ACC All-Freshman Team).
Â
Senior goalkeeper Hendrik Hilpert earned Google Cloud/CoSIDA Academic All-America honors for the third consecutive year, becoming the third Syracuse student-athlete and the first men's soccer player to earn Academic All-America honors three times.
Â
All-Americans Santita Ebangwese and Polina Shemanova led the Orange volleyball team to the program's first NCAA Tournament in history. Head coach Leonid Yelin's squad beat Yale, 3-0, in the first round of the tournament and then lost to eight-seed Penn State in the second round.
Â
A Google Cloud/CoSIDA Academic All-American, Ebangwese is one of the most accomplished student-athletes in Syracuse volleyball history. She is a two-time All-ACC First Team selection and a 2018 Senior CLASS Award finalist. Ebangwese ranks in the top-10 on several Syracuse career record lists, including total blocks (567). Shemanova, the AVCA East Region and ACC Freshman of the Year, averaged 4.22 kills per set, which ranked 28th nationally and third among freshman.
Â
Syracuse is matching its athletics success in the classroom. The more than 600 Orange student-athletes recorded a cumulative grade point average of 3.02 in the 2018 fall semester. In addition, Syracuse had its highest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) in school history – 92% – in the fall. The measurement reflects the entering freshman class in 2011-12 and those who graduated within six years. The NCAA started measuring the GSR, which also includes those who entered midyear, as well as student-athletes who transferred into the institution, in 2004.
Â
Â
Head coach Dino Babers' Orange football team closed the season ranked 15th nationally after its 34-18 victory against West Virginia in the Camping World Bowl. It's the first time Syracuse has appeared in the final college football rankings since finishing 14th at the conclusion of the 2001 season. Babers, who signed a long-term contract extension in December, was a finalist for three national coach of the year awards.
Â
The Orange ranked 11th nationally in scoring offense (40.2 ppg) and shattered the program record with 523 points in 13 games. In addition, they matched the school single-season record with 62 total touchdowns, including a record 38 rushing scores. Defensively, Syracuse finished third in the FBS in turnovers gained (31), fifth in interceptions (18), fifth in fumbles recovered (13), and sixth in sacks (3.31 per game). The Orange's 43 sacks were the most in program history.
Â
The men's cross country team earned its fourth consecutive NCAA Championship invitation. First-year head coach Brien Bell guided the squad to a 26th-place finish. Sophomore Joe Dragon paced the team with a 90th-place finish. Aidan Tooker, Simon Smith, Nathan Henderson and Noah Affolder all competed for the Orange.
Â
Head coach Ian McIntyre led the Orange to their sixth NCAA Tournament, and fifth in the last seven years. The 16th-seeded Orange lost to eventual national finalist Akron in the first round, 3-1. Three Syracuse players earned All-ACC honors, including sophomore Tajon Buchanan (All-ACC First Team), senior Kamal Miller (All-ACC Third Team), and Ryan Raposo (ACC All-Freshman Team).
Â
Senior goalkeeper Hendrik Hilpert earned Google Cloud/CoSIDA Academic All-America honors for the third consecutive year, becoming the third Syracuse student-athlete and the first men's soccer player to earn Academic All-America honors three times.
Â
All-Americans Santita Ebangwese and Polina Shemanova led the Orange volleyball team to the program's first NCAA Tournament in history. Head coach Leonid Yelin's squad beat Yale, 3-0, in the first round of the tournament and then lost to eight-seed Penn State in the second round.
Â
A Google Cloud/CoSIDA Academic All-American, Ebangwese is one of the most accomplished student-athletes in Syracuse volleyball history. She is a two-time All-ACC First Team selection and a 2018 Senior CLASS Award finalist. Ebangwese ranks in the top-10 on several Syracuse career record lists, including total blocks (567). Shemanova, the AVCA East Region and ACC Freshman of the Year, averaged 4.22 kills per set, which ranked 28th nationally and third among freshman.
Â
Syracuse is matching its athletics success in the classroom. The more than 600 Orange student-athletes recorded a cumulative grade point average of 3.02 in the 2018 fall semester. In addition, Syracuse had its highest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) in school history – 92% – in the fall. The measurement reflects the entering freshman class in 2011-12 and those who graduated within six years. The NCAA started measuring the GSR, which also includes those who entered midyear, as well as student-athletes who transferred into the institution, in 2004.
Â
Postgame Press Conference | Syracuse vs. Binghamton
Wednesday, December 17
Highlights | Syracuse vs. Binghamton
Wednesday, December 17
Dominique Darius postgame vs. Binghamton
Wednesday, December 17
JJ Starling postgame vs. Hofstra
Sunday, December 14
