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LSU Finishes Athletics Season with Eight Top-10 Teams

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LSU Finishes Athletics Season with Eight Top-10 Teams

BATON ROUGE – LSU put together another banner year of athletics in 2016-17 as the school produced eight Top-10 NCAA finishes on its way to placing No. 18 in the final Learfield Directors’ Cup Standings, which were released on Thursday.

Of LSU’s 21 sports, 14 competed and placed in an NCAA event led by national runner-up finishes in baseball and gymnastics.

The LSU softball team, coached by Beth Torina, appeared in the Women’s College World Series for the third consecutive year and finished fifth at the event.

LSU’s newest sport – beach volleyball – had its best season ever, reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time and placing fifth at the event.

LSU’s track and field program, led by Dennis Shaver, produced three Top-10 finishes in 2016-17. The men’s team placed sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championships and then followed that with a seventh-place showing at the NCAA Outdoor Meet, while the Lady Tigers also placed seventh outdoors.

Chuck Winstead‘s men’s golf team come up just two shots shy of advancing to match play at the NCAA Championships. However, the Tigers still finished ninth overall at the NCAA Championships for their fourth-straight Top-10 NCAA finish.

LSU picked up 50 Directors’ Cup points from the women’s tennis team for advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, while the Lady Tigers basketball team added 25 points toward the school’s total for advancing to the NCAA Tournament.

LSU got 48 points for finishing No. 26 at the NCAA Championships in men’s swimming and diving, while adding 40 points for the 34th place finish on the women’s side.

LSU advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in women’s tennis for the third-straight season, while Nikki Fargas and the reached the 64-team NCAA Tournament.

The LSU football team played in a bowl game for a school-record 17th-straight season and finished the year ranked No. 14 in the nation after posting a 29-9 win over Louisville in the Buffalo Wild Wins Citrus Bowl. The Tigers ended the year with an 8-4 overall mark.

The annual Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, which measures the overall strength of institution’s athletic programs, released its final standings for the 2016-17 athletic year following the conclusion of the College World Series. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in up to 20 sports – 10 women’s and 10 men’s.

Stanford won the overall Directors’ Cup title with 1,563 points followed by Ohio State with 1,343.75, Florida with 1,252.5 points, Southern Cal with 1,251.25 points and North Carolina with 1,154 points.

LSU was fifth among all Southeastern Conference teams in the standings. Kentucky placed 10th overall with 1025 points, followed by Texas A&M in 12th place with 986.5 points and Georgia with 913.75 points.

A total of eight SEC teams ranked among the Top 25 in the standings. Arkansas (No. 20), South Carolina (No. 21), and Alabama (No. 25) rounded out the Top 25 for the league.

LSU’s History In the Directors’ Cup
Year Rank Points
1993-94 No. 36 213.5
1994-95 No. 19 271.5
1995-96 No. 16 302.5
1996-97 No. 10 374.5
1997-98 No. 10 440.0
1998-99 No. 16 390.0
1999-00 No. 10 764.0
2000-01 No. 22 653.5
2001-02 No. 10 842.5
2002-03 No. 23 597.25
2003-04 No. 11 867.75
2004-05 No. 23 571.25
2005-06 No. 20 675.125
2006-07 No. 17 888.0
2007-08 No. 8 1,085.0
2008-09 No. 9 1,029.0
2009-10 No. 19 824.0
2010-11 No. 19 831.5
2011-12 No. 13 967.75
2012-13 No. 19 847.0
2013-14 No. 22 833.75
2014-15 No. 15 930.25
2015-16 No. 19 883.5
2016-17 No. 18 862.5

LSU’s Top 10 National Finishes in 2016-17
Gymnastics No. 2
Baseball No. 2
Softball No. 5
Beach Volleyball No. 5
Men’s Indoor Track/Field No. 6
Men’s Outdoor Track/Field No. 7
Women’s Outdoor Track/Field No. 7
Men’s Golf No. 9