July 1, 2010
2009-10 VaSID All-Sports Survey (PDF)
FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University Athletics finished ninth in the 2009-10 Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) Division I All-Sport Championships, its highest finish since beginning Division I competition in 2007. The Lancers completed the year with an overall record of 145-131-3 for an overall winning percentage of .525 percent to earn the ninth-place ranking among the 14 Virginia schools that compete at the Division I level -- finishing ahead of Radford, George Mason, Hampton, Norfolk State, and VMI. Among the women's sports, Longwood ranked fifth with its record of 87-71-1 (.550) while the men's sports ranked 11th with a record of 58-60-2 (.492). The Lancers enjoyed their finest year of intercollegiate competition since 2003-04 (144-102-3, .584) which was the first year of the four-year reclassification period toward Division I. The University of Virginia was first in the 32nd annual VaSID rankings for the third consecutive year with its overall record of 303-132-9 (.693).
“I am proud to say that this has been a fantastic year for Longwood Athletics,” said Director of Athletics
Troy Austin. “The student-athletes, coaches, and staff work hard every day to provide the University with a quality Division I program; one that our alums and the community can rally behind.
“The progress of is exciting and it provides us a great springboard for our future. It is a great time to be a Longwood Lancer!”
The most-recent spring portion of the year proved most successful during 2009-10 as each of the five programs finished with winning records, including baseball (28-20), women's lacrosse (10-8, 6-0 NLC), softball (36-16), men's tennis (12-9), and women's tennis (13-8). Four of the five teams, with the exception of women's lacrosse, enjoyed their best campaigns as Division I?programs. Softball attained its fifth-highest win total ever, and its 20th overall winning season in 30 years. Baseball earned its 29th overall 20-win campaign and 22nd season with at least 25 wins, and now has 29 winning seasons in 33 years. Men's tennis equaled its second-highest win total ever, and its 10th winning season in 30 years, while women's tennis posted its highest win total since 2002-03, and its 21st winning season in 39 years of accurate records. Women's lacrosse won its second-straight National Lacrosse Conference Tournament championship while enjoying its 21st winning effort in 39 years as well.
Longwood men's basketball finished 12-19 during 2009-10 as the 12 wins are the second-highest total since beginning Division I scheduling in 2004-05, only behind last year's final record of 17-14. The Lancers were 9-3 at home in Willett Hall and are now an impressive 43-20 (.683) on-campus over the past five seasons. Women's basketball was 9-20 this past year, including 7-5 at home where the program is now 31-25 (.554) over the past five seasons.
The fall sports were led by the women's soccer program that finished 9-8-1 for its fourth-straight winning season, and 13th overall winning effort in 16 years. Field hockey compiled a 10-11 overall record, including 4-2 in the Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference (NorPac), finishing 1-2 at the NorPac Tournament (fourth). Men's soccer was 6-12-2 overall, including 2-2 in the Atlantic Soccer Conference (ASC), placing as runners-up at the ASC Tournament.
In addition, women's golf won the Tina Barrett Invitational in April among its five top three finishes in eight overall tournaments this year, while the men's golf team won the Lonnie Barton Memorial Invitational in March among its four top three finishes in 11 overall events. The men's and women's cross country programs each had five top ten finishes among their respective six competitions last fall.
Longwood Athletics has now displayed five consecutive years of improvement in its overall success. Expect nothing less for the upcoming 2010-11 campaign as the Lancers strive for an even more successful year of competition.
