MELBOURNE, Fla. - The past year will go down in the record books for the Sunshine State Conference as seven teams brought home national championship trophies in 2014-15. It marks the first time in conference history that seven national championships have been won in a single academic year, besting the previous high of six titles.
The SSC is the first Division II conference to win seven national championships in one academic year since the California Collegiate Athletic Association did so in 1988-89. CCAA holds the overall D-II record with eight championships in 1981-82.
Sunshine State Conference teams that captured national titles in the past year include: Lynn men’s soccer, Tampa volleyball, Florida Southern men’s basketball, Barry men’s tennis, Nova Southeastern men’s golf, Tampa baseball, and Barry women’s rowing.
"As a longtime member of the Sunshine State Conference, I'm very proud of the outstanding performances of our teams and individuals at the highest level of competition for NCAA Division II members,” said Bill Jurgens, Florida Tech Athletics Director & Chairman of the SSC Athletic Directors Council. “I'm equally proud that academically our conference finished among the top three in Division II in Academic Success Rate. It's truly been an outstanding year for the Sunshine State Conference and its member institutions, who have all contributed to this overall success."
The championship totals of this year broke the previous record of six which was set in 2012-13. Since 1989, the SSC has won multiple titles every year except for 2002-03 when Rollins women’s golf hoisted the only title. Factoring in the seven national championships from this year, the SSC has now totaled 94 in its history.
Along with the seven titles, SSC teams were able to capture four national runner-up trophies in women’s soccer (Rollins), women’s golf (Rollins), women’s tennis (Barry), and men’s golf (Lynn) and SSC athletes collected eight individual national titles and eight individual national runner-ups. The list of individual achievements can be seen below.
Championship Recap
Lynn Men’s Soccer (Full Recap) - Lynn University claims their third men’s soccer, 12th overall NCAA Division II National Championship. Lynn won both the 2014 SSC regular season and tournament championship, gaining a bye into the NCAA South Regional. The Fighting Knights lived up to their name, dispatching Saint Leo (3-0), Young Harris (4-1), Quincy (4-1), and Charleston (3-2) to hoist the trophy. (Bracket)
Tampa Volleyball (Full Recap) - University of Tampa finishes the 2014 season at the true number one and with their second volleyball national championship, 14th overall. The Spartans received the No. 1 seed into the NCAA South Regional after securing the 2014 SSC Regular Season championship for the 10th consecutive season. The Spartans defeated Claflin (S.C.) (3-0), Valdosta State (Ga.) (3-0), and Palm Beach Atlantic (3-1) to win the region. Tampa defeated Wheeling Jesuit (3-0) during the quarterfinals and Arkansas-Fort Smith (3-1) in the Semifinals. In the championship, Tampa overcame the only team to defeat them this season, Southwest Minnesota State, 3-0. (Bracket)
Florida Southern Men’s Basketball (Full Recap) - Florida Southern College claims their second men’s basketball, 28th overall NCAA Division II National Championship. The Moccasins won both the 2015 SSC regular season and tournament championship, which helped them secure the No. 1 seed in the south regional tournament. They went on to defeat Benedict (89-68), West Georgia (84-81), and Lynn (88-80) to move on to the NCAA Elite Eight. There they defeated Southern New Hampshire (81-70), No. 3 Bellarmine (79-76), and No. 25 Indiana (Pa.) (77-62) to capture the national title. (Bracket)
Barry Men’s Tennis (Full Recap) - Barry University won their first of two national championships in 2014-15 with their third men’s golf title, 14th overall. Barry was named the No. 1 seed in the south region after winning both the SSC regular season and tournament championship. They defeated Saint Leo (5-3) in the regional championship before defeating No. 10 Azusa Pacific (5-0), No. 29 Cameron (5-0), No. 8 Lander (5-2), and No. 1 Hawaii Pacific (5-3) to win the national championship. (Bracket)
Nova Southeastern Men’s Golf (Full Recap) - Nova Southeastern University won their second men’s golf, seventh overall NCAA Division II National Championship. After finishing second in the SSC tournament, the Sharks were given the No. 1 seed for the south regional tournament. After a ten stroke victory in the regional, they qualified with 19 other teams for the NCAA championship tournament. After finishing stroke play in the second place, NSU moved on to match play where they defeated Chico State (3-2), Central Missouri (5-0), and Lynn (3-2) to capture the national title. (Full Results)
Tampa Baseball (Full Recap) - The University of Tampa won their seventh NCAA baseball national championship, 15th overall. The Spartans were given the No. 3 seed for the south regional tournament after a runner-up regular season finish in the SSC. Their best baseball came in the postseason when they reeled off eight straight games. In the regional tournament, they defeated Florida Tech (12-6), Nova Southeastern (8-1), West Alabama (13-9), and Florida Tech (5-4) again to advance to the final eight. There they defeated No. 8 Cal Poly Pomona (7-4), No. 3 Mercyhurst (3-1), No. 15 Henderson State (5-2), and No. 2 Catawba (3-1) to win their second title in three years. (Bracket)
Barry Rowing (Full Recap) - Barry University’s second national title of 2015 was also their first in rowing and 15th in school history. The Buccaneers captured both the varsity eight and varsity four events on their way to securing 20 points to outdistance Mercyhurst (15), defending champion Humboldt State (8) and Central Oklahoma (7). Barry won by more than eight seconds in a time of 7:11.548 in Varsity-8 and by three seconds with a time of 7:49.155 in the Varsity-4. (Full Results)
Individual Champions
Men's Swimming
Thiago Sickert, NSU (100 Free)
Thiago Sickert, NSU (200 Free)
Anton Lobonov, NSU (100 Breast)
Anton Lobonov, NSU (200 Breast)
Women's Swimming
Bryndis Hansen, NSU (50 Free)
Courtney DeVeny, NSU (400 IM)
Rebecca Matthews, Lynn (100 Breast)
Rebecca Matthews, Lynn (200 Breast)
Rowing
Barry Varsity 4
Barry Varsity 8
Individual Runner-Up
Mateo Gomez, Lynn (Men’s Golf)
Madison Lellyo, Rollins (Women’s Golf)
Daniel Bis, Saint Leo (1000 Free)
Daniel Bis, Saint Leo (1650 Free)
Rebecca Matthews, Lynn (200 IM)
Tampa Men (200 Free Relay)
Tampa Men (400 Free Relay)
Thiago Sickert, NSU (200 Fly)