GRANVILLE, Ohio (May 18, 2022) – Denison University won eight league titles in women's soccer, volleyball, men's swimming & diving, baseball, women's golf, men's lacrosse, men's tennis and women's tennis, and posted 14 additional top-five finishes during the 2021-22 academic year to win its league-leading 18th North Coast Athletic Conference All-Sports Championship.

Beyond Denison's eight championship titles, the Big Red posted four second-place showings in women's swimming & diving, men's golf, women's lacrosse, and men's outdoor track & field and a share of second in field hockey. The Big Red also added two third-place finishes in men's cross country and men's soccer, and a share of third in softball to cement their spot atop the standings with a total of 190.5 points. The total of 190.5 points in 2021-22 by the Big Red is an all-time conference record, blowing away the previous record of 179.0 points that was set by Denison more than two decades ago in 1999-2000.

After leading the standings with 55.0 total points in the Fall and 99.0 points after the Winter sports season, Denison nearly doubled its total from Winter to Spring by adding 91.5 points. The Big Red finished 25 points ahead of DePauw University (165.5 points) in second place. In the men's standings, Denison was first at 93.5 points while DePauw was second at 74.5, and in the women's standings, Denison was first at 97.0 points while DePauw was again second at 91.0.

The All-Sports champion earns the Dennis M. Collins All-Sports Trophy, given annually to the school that performs the best across the NCAC's 23 sports. Ten points are awarded for a first-place finish, nine for a second, eight for a third, and so on. Men's and women's performances are combined, exemplifying the North Coast's commitment to equity and balance among programs. Wooster won three of the first four All-Sports championships, interrupted only by Denison in year two. Ohio Wesleyan followed with a six-year run, leading to titles by Wooster (twice), Wittenberg (once), Denison (nine), OWU (twice), and then a tie between Denison and OWU in 2009. Wittenberg earned its second All-Sports title in 2010, followed by Denison in 2011 and DePauw in 2012. Denison then claimed back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014, before DePauw regained the championship in 2015. The Big Red then reclaimed the title during the 2015-16 academic year, while DePauw recaptured the prize again in 2016-17 before Denison once again earned back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019. An all-sports trophy was not awarded in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Denison leads the way with 165 team championships during the NCAC's 38 playing seasons. Ohio Wesleyan is next with 157 titles, followed by Kenyon (130), Allegheny (119), Wittenberg (110), Wooster (84), DePauw (37), Wabash (31), Oberlin (25) and Hiram (2).
 

Denison 2022 Spring Sports Review:

Baseball: Fresh off of their second straight NCAC Regular-Season Championship with a 16-2 conference record and third straight NCAC Tournament title, the Denison baseball team has been chosen by the NCAA as a host institution for the Division III Regionals. The Big Red earned the NCAC's automatic bid to regionals for the third year in a row, and will now compete in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth year in a row after doing so for the first time in program history in 2018. Denison, currently ranked No. 19 in the 2022 D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25 Poll, will bring a 33-9 overall record into regionals. In the NCAC Tournament championship game against Wooster that the Big Red won by a score of 8-1, senior Kenny Lippman went the distance to earn both the win and Tournament MVP honors while also setting a Big Red record for strikeouts in a single game with 14. The NCAC chose seven Denison baseball players for its 2022 all-conference teams, highlighted by four first-team selections, while Eric Colaco was named the NCAC Newcomer of the Year and Mike Deegan was the Coach of the Year.

Softball: The Denison softball team concluded its 2022 regular season with a two-game split at Ohio Wesleyan University, which allowed the Big Red to clinch the No. 3 seed for the NCAC Tournament. With its season on the line in game two at OWU, Denison earned a 3-2 comeback win thanks to a two-out, two run home run by Jessica Hopkins in the top of the seventh inning. The NCAC chose five Denison softball players for its all-conference team, highlighted by first-team selections Hopkins and Claire Powell. Powell was later named Third-Team All-Region VII by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) as well.

Women's Golf: The Denison women's golf team captured its second straight NCAC Championship under the direction of Head Coach Lauren Grogan. As a team, the Big Red completed the three-day, 54-hole event with a 79-stroke win over the rest of the field at the Westbrook Country Club. Sophia Alexander took home the medalist honors and was also named the NCAC Player of the Year in the post championship awards ceremony. Last season's medalist winner and Newcomer of the Year, Laine Hursh, finished in second place, six strokes behind Alexander. This year, freshman Ella McRoberts was named the NCAC Newcomer of the Year after finishing in third place, only five strokes behind Hursh. Kate Griffin finished in fourth place and joined Alexander, Hursh and McRoberts on the all-conference first-team. Last but certainly not least, Julia Shafir finished sixth to headline the second-team all-conference squad and make it all five Big Red players finishing in the top-six. Head Coach Lauren Grogan was named the NCAC Coach of the Year, making it a clean sweep of the NCAC awards for the Big Red for the second year in a row. The Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) then announced the 2021-22 student-athlete and coaches awards for Division III women's golf, and Alexander and Hursh were both named as All-Great Lakes Region honorees.

Men's Golf: The Denison men's golf team moved up two spots after the final round at the 2022 NCAC Championship to finish as the conference runner-up behind only Kenyon College. Denison's leader throughout the tournament was Ben Scherman, who finished in a four-player tie for fifth place at 12-over-par and was named first-team all-conference. Freshman Andrew Gallagher finished alone in ninth place at 13-over-par and was named second-team all-conference. Earning honorable mention all-conference honors for Denison was Davis Johnson in a tie for 11th, Mac McGurn in a tie for 13th, and Marc Mitchell in 15th. Mitchell was then recognized as an NCAA Division III PING All-Region honoree by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) for the third time in his career.

Men's Lacrosse: Under the direction of new Head Coach Eric Koch, the Denison men's lacrosse team earned its 20th NCAC regular-season championship in program history with a perfect 9-0 conference record. The Big Red then outscored Kenyon College 8-0 in the second half to capture the 2022 NCAC Tournament Championship by a final score of 12-5. It was Denison's seventh overall and sixth straight NCAC Tournament title. After finishing with two wins and a combined 21 saves with only 14 goals allowed in two games, junior goalkeeper Archer Darrach was named the NCAC Tournament Most Valuable Player. Senior Camden Bowdy was named the NCAC Men's Lacrosse Player of the Year while fellow-senior Davis Cronin was the Specialist of the Year. For the 26th time in program history and for the sixth time in a row, Denison men's lacrosse competed in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament, earning a 14-13 win over Grove City in the second round thanks to the game-winning goal by sophomore Nate Kay.

Women's Lacrosse: The Denison women's lacrosse team received an at-large bid to the 2022 NCAA Division III Tournament, and thanks to the game-winning goal just over one minute into overtime by Jane Bailey, the Big Red earned a big 13-12 comeback victory over Catholic University on its home turf inside Deeds Field-Piper Stadium during the second round of the tournament. Denison improved to 12-6 overall and will advance to the NCAA Third Round (Sweet Sixteen), where they will play at No. 4 nationally-ranked Gettysburg College on Saturday, May 21. For the second year in a row, senior Casey McTague was named as the NCAC Midfielder of the Year. Joining McTague on the All-NCAC first-team was Jane Bailey and Kate Coward while three other Big Red players also earned all-conference recognition.

Men's Tennis: For the second time in two seasons under the direction of Head Coach David Schilling, the Denison men's tennis team hoisted the NCAC Championship trophy as the Big Red defeated Kenyon College 5-3 at the Denison Tennis Courts. The Big Red then won their second-round matchup at the 2022 NCAA Division III Tournament in St. Louis, Missouri, by defeating Sewanee by a final score of 5-2. The win for Denison set a new program record for wins in a single season (23). Making their second straight national tournament appearance after a 15-year absence before that, the Big Red earned their second win in program history at the national tournament, and their first win since defeating Illinois Wesleyan University 4-0 in the first round in 1997. In addition to the team accomplishments, Denison senior Tim Cianciola (2019-2022) set the program's new record for singles wins in a career with 65. He is now a combined 65-15 in singles matches in his career at Denison, breaking the previous program record of 63 career wins set by Lee Hays from 1996-1999. Cianciola and Marc-Lennart Harms are now the new Denison single-season record holders for singles wins in a season with 25 while Cianciola is also the new Denison single-season record holder for doubles wins in a season with 27. Denison received All-NCAC recognition from Cianciola, Jack Bulger, Harms, Andy Mackler, Ryan Patrick Colin Gramley and Blake Eason while Cianciola was named the NCAC Player of the Year for the second year in a row and Cianciola and Bulger were the NCAC Doubles Team of the Year for the second year in a row as well. Additionally, Cianciola was selected to compete in the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Singles Championship in Orlando, Florida, on May 27-29, while he and Bulger will also compete together in the NCAA Doubles Championship.

Women's Tennis: For the 13th time in program history and for the first time since 2016, the Denison women's tennis team won the NCAC Championship as the Big Red defeated Kenyon College by a final score of 5-3 in a four-and-a-half-hour-long match inside the Jasper Tennis Center. The Big Red then won its first-round matchup at the 2022 NCAA Division III Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio, by blanking the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg by a final score of 6-0. It was Denison's 21st NCAA Tournament victory in program history. Denison ended its 2022 season with a final record of 15-8 and received All-NCAC recognition from Sydney Cianciola, Sarah Robertson, Monique Brual and Caroline Lopez while Head Coach Jamie Scott was named the NCAC Coach of the Year for the first time in her five seasons leading the Big Red. Additionally, Cianciola and Robertson were selected as the first doubles alternate for the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Doubles Championship in Orlando, Florida, on May 27-29.

Men's Outdoor Track & Field: Led by a pair of conference titles in the 110 and 400 meter hurdles by junior Charlie Webb, Denison men's track & field finished in second place at the 2022 NCAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. It was Denison's best finish at the NCAC Outdoor Championship since winning its sixth conference title in seven years in 1991. The 10 All-NCAC performances Denison collected between both days of the championship and the decathlon are the most by the Big Red in a single outdoor championship since also earning 10 all-conference honors in 1998. After the meet, Webb was awarded as the NCAC Sprints/Hurdles Athlete of the Year. During day one of the championship, senior Keanan Ginell won the conference title in the 10,000 meter run.

Women's Outdoor Track & Field: The Denison women's track & field team finished in fourth place at the NCAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. It was a good finish for a Big Red team that was picked to finish seventh in the NCAC Pre-Championship Coaches' Poll. After she won both the 60 and 200 meter dashes at the NCAC Indoor Track & Field Championships earlier this season, freshman Anaya Jolivette won both the 100 meter dash and the 200 meter dash this time around at the outdoor championships. She was named the NCAC Newcomer of the Year just like she was during the indoor season, but this time, she also earned the conference's Sprints/Hurdles Athlete of the Year award. Senior Ashley Schmoll had a great performance in the field events winning the discus while Mikaila Carpenter won the shot put and Catelyn Gagnier was first in the pole vault.
 
Official NCAC Release