Syracuse Women's Programs Finish 17th In Capital One Cup’s Women’s Standings

I don't have the hard data in front of me but I'm willing to bet this was the best year in the history of Syracuse Athletics for women's programs. And that success shows in the 2011-2012 Capital One Cup’s women’s standings, where the Orange finished 17th overall with 42 points.

So do we get 42 points? Well, points are awarded for top 10 finishes at NCAA Championships and final rankings in either the official coaches’ or media poll. So...

Women's Lacrosse: Advanced to the NCAA Championship Game and was ranked No. 2 in final polls.

Women's Field Hockey: Advanced to quarterfinals of NCAA Tournament, finished No. 3 in final rankings.

And while they weren't noted in the points totals, the women's basketball team made a nice post-season run in the NIT, the women's softball team had a hugely successful qualified for the NCAA Tournament, the women's volleyball team finished 19-12 and had their best conference finish since 2005, the women's rowing team finished tied for 21st in the final poll and the women's tennis squad went 14-6 (and I'm sure I missed someone).

In case you're wondering, Stanford finished No. 1 (of course), followed by UCLA, Alabama, LSU and Duke. Syracuse finished No. 1 in the Big East, unless you count Notre Dame, which you shouldn't, because they're jerks. Northwestern finished 11th and could have finished higher but they spent too much time stalling and time ran out.

The recent success of the women's programs is a nod in DOC Gross' direction and a reflection of how SU is becoming a more well-rounded athletic institution. Of course, we'd still like to see the football program win a few more games and the lacrosse program get back to attending Final Fours, but overall, things are moving in the right direction...