Appalachian State Wins Commissioner's, Germann Cups

HILTON HEAD, S.C. – Appalachian State’s men and women have won the Southern Conference’s all-sports trophies for the 2012-13 academic year. The Mountaineer men won the Commissioner’s Cup, while the women claimed the Germann Cup.

The Commissioner’s and Germann cups are awarded annually to the Southern Conference schools fielding the league’s best all-around men’s and women’s sports programs, respectively. Schools earn points based upon their regular-season finishes, with two bonus points going to the teams that win their respective conference tournaments.

The Mountaineer men accumulated 92 points over the course of the academic year, finishing 21 points ahead of runner-up Davidson.

In the fall, the Appalachian State men tied for the SoCon crown in football, won the cross country championship and finished sixth in soccer. The Mountaineers followed that up with a solid winter, which included an indoor track and field championship, a second-place showing in the North Division in basketball and a tie for second place in wrestling. A third-place finish in outdoor track and field and a fourth-place finish in golf highlighted the spring slate for Appalachian State.

Davidson used a runner-up finish in golf and a fourth-place finish in outdoor track and field to jump Chattanooga for second place. The Wildcats won the South Division and tournament in basketball and posted fourth-place finishes in cross country and indoor track and field to finish with 71 points.

Chattanooga added a men’s golf title to its credit in the spring, finishing with 68 points. The Mocs also turned in regular-season and tournament titles in wrestling and a runner-up finish in cross country on the year.

Elon, which won the baseball tournament on Sunday, finished in a tie for second in the regular-season baseball standings and won the tennis regular season. The Phoenix also won the North Division basketball title and the regular-season and tournament titles in soccer over the course of the year, finishing fourth in the cup standings with 65 points.

Samford, which won the tennis tournament in the spring, follows with 64.5 points. Furman and Western Carolina tied for sixth with 54 points each, with the Catamounts winning the outdoor track and field title and the baseball regular-season crown.

College of Charleston, which tied for second in baseball and finished third in tennis and golf in the spring, follows in eighth at 53 points, with UNCG (52.5), The Citadel (50.5), Georgia Southern (47) and Wofford (40) rounding out the standings.

Georgia Southern and Wofford shared the football title with Appalachian State in the fall.

As has often been the case in recent years, the Germann Cup came down to the final sport of the spring season, softball. This year was no different, as Appalachian State, the softball regular-season champion, finished with 77.5 points to edge runner-up Elon by just half a point in the Germann Cup standings.

The Mountaineers used their softball finish, as well as a runner-up finish in outdoor track and field, to vault from third in the winter standings to the win. Appalachian State also won the cross country championship in the fall and finished second at indoor track and field in the winter.

Elon was steady throughout the year, finishing third in women’s basketball and fourth at the indoor track and field championship in the winter before finishing fourth in outdoor track and field and tying for second in tennis in the spring. The Phoenix also finished second in cross country and was second in the North Division in volleyball in the fall.

College of Charleston turned in a very successful spring to move to third in the final standings with 75 points, buoyed by regular-season and tournament titles in tennis and a runner-up finish in softball.

Samford, which led the standings after the fall and winter seasons, finished fourth with 74.5 points. The Bulldogs turned in a North Division title in volleyball, a second-place finish in soccer and a third-place showing at the cross country championship in the fall. In the winter, Samford finished third at the indoor track and field championship and tied for fifth in the basketball standings.

Furman finished fifth with 68 points, tying for second in tennis and taking second outright in women’s golf in the spring.

Chattanooga, which added a women’s golf title to the regular-season and tournament titles it won in basketball in the winter, finished sixth with 62.5 points.

UNCG tied for second in tennis and finished third in golf in the spring to finish with 60.5 points in seventh place. Georgia Southern, which finished third in outdoor track and field and softball and won the softball tournament in the spring, was eighth with 60 points. The Eagles also won the soccer tournament and the South Division volleyball title in the fall.

Outdoor track and field winner Western Carolina is ninth at 54 points, while Davidson finished 10th with 38. Wofford (27) and The Citadel (21) complete the standings.

The Commissioner’s Cup was inaugurated in 1970 and the Germann Cup was first awarded in 1987. The latter is named for former SoCon Commissioner Ken Germann, who served as commissioner of the Southern Conference from 1974-86 and spearheaded the effort to introduce women’s athletics to the league.

Appalachian State has won the Commissioner’s Cup 33 times in the last 36 years, interrupted only by East Tennessee State in 1982-83, Furman in 1990-91 and Chattanooga in 2004-05.

Just five schools have ever won the Germann Cup. Appalachian State won the first six and now has 10 total, while Furman won 12 straight from 1992-2004. College of Charleston, last year’s champion, won the first of its three titles in 2004-05, while Chattanooga won in 2007-08 and Samford in 2009-10.

Commissioner’s Cup (final)(Men’s Athletics)
1. Appalachian State 92

2. Davidson 71

3. Chattanooga 68

4. Elon 65

5. Samford 64.5

T6. Furman 54

T6. Western Carolina 54

8. College of Charleston 53

9. UNCG 52.5

10. The Citadel 50.5

11. Georgia Southern 47

12. Wofford 40

Germann Cup (final)(Women’s Athletics)

1. Appalachian State 77.5

2. Elon 77

3.College of Charleston 75

4. Samford 74.5

5. Furman 68

6. Chattanooga 62.5

7. UNCG 60.5

8. Georgia Southern 60

9. Western Carolina 54

10. Davidson 38

11. Wofford 27

12. The Citadel 21

-www.SoConSports.com-

Appalachian State Wins Commissioner's, Germann Cups

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