Puget Sound Wins First All-Sports Trophy

SPOKANE, Wash. — The University of Puget Sound held off defending champion Whitworth College and hard-charging Linfield College to win the Northwest Conference's McIlroy-Lewis All-Sports Trophy for the first time in school history. UPS has been a member of the NWC since the fall of 1996. The Loggers had finished as high as second place in the trophy standings as recently as 2003-04.

UPS used runner-up finishes in women's golf and men's track and field, as well as third place finishes in baseball and women's tennis to finish with 94 points this spring and a year-long total of 245. The Loggers won a total of three NWC titles this year.

Whitworth, which won a conference title in men's golf and added a second place finish in softball this spring, was only three points behind the Loggers with 242 points. The Pirates had trailed by nine points after the winter sports season. Whitworth won four conference titles in 2005-06.

Linfield had the stongest spring of any NWC school, winning NWC titles in softball and women's tennis, while finishing second in baseball, men's golf and women's track and field. The Wildcats scored more than half (124) of their 234 total points in the spring season.

Willamette, which swept the NWC track and field titles for the fifth straight season, finished fourth with 199 points. Willamette also ended up with four NWC titles this school year.

The other spring NWC championships went to George Fox in baseball (the Bruins' fifth straight) and Pacific in women's golf (the Boxers' third in a row). PLU won the men's tennis title.

The Northwest Conference All-Sports Trophy recognizes athletic excellence among Northwest Conference institutions across all fields of competition. It is named in honor of John Lewis, the baseball coach (1947-72), basketball coach (1947-67) and athletics director (1952-72) at Willamette University; and Jane McIlroy, Linfield College’s women’s athletics director and physical education professor from 1950-82 who also coached field hockey (1952-81), basketball, volleyball, softball and tennis.

School wxc mxc wsoc msoc vb fb wsw msw wbb mbb bb sb wtn mtn wg mg wtf mtf total
Puget Sound 8 16 18 14 15 12 18 16 16 18 14 8 14 10 16 8 8 16 245
Whitworth 14 14 10 18 18 14 14 18 7 15 10 16 12 12 6 18 14 10 242
Linfield 12 12 4 16 15 18 10 14 7 2 16 18 18 14 14 16 16 12 234
Willamette 18 18 16 8 2 16 6 6 2 15 6 12 8 8 12 10 18 18 199
Pacific Lutheran 2 4 14 12 12 10 8 12 18 5 10 14 16 18 8 12 12 8 195
Whitman 6 6 12 10 9 -- 12 10 13 8 2 -- 10 16 10 4 -- -- 128
Lewis & Clark 16 10 8 -- 6 -- 16 8 10 10 4 6 5 4 -- 6 4 6 119
George Fox 10 8 2 5 9 -- -- -- 13 12 18 4 5 6 -- -- 6 14 112
Pacific 4 -- 6 5 4 -- 4 4 4 5 10 10 2 2 18 14 10 4 106

key: wxc = women's cross country; mxc = men's cross-country; wsoc = women's soccer; msoc = men's soccer; vb = volleyball; fb = football; wsw = women's swimming; msw = men's swimming; wbb = women's basketball; mbb = men's basketball; bb = baseball; sb = softball; wtn = women's tennis; mtn = men's tennis; wg = women's golf; mg = men's golf; wtf = women's track & field; mtf = men's track & field.

2005-06 NWC Sport Winners:
Whitworth, 4 (Men's Soccer, Volleyball, Men's Swimming, Men's Golf)
Willamette, 4 (Men's Cross-Country, Women's Cross-Country, Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field)
Puget Sound, 3 (Women's Soccer, Women's Swimming, Men's Basketball)
Linfield, 3 (Football, Softball, Women's Tennis)
Pacific Lutheran, 2 (Women's Basketball, Men's Tennis)
George Fox, 1 (Baseball)
Pacific, 1 (Women's Golf)

Past McIlroy-Lewis Trophy Winners
2005 - Whitworth 2004 - Linfield
2003 - Linfield 2002 - Pacific Lutheran 2001 - Linfield
2000 - Pacific Lutheran 1999 - Pacific Lutheran 1998 - Pacific Lutheran
1997 - Pacific Lutheran 1996 - Pacific Lutheran 1995 - Pacific Lutheran
1994 - Willamette 1993 - Pacific Lutheran 1992 - Pacific Lutheran
1991 - Pacific Lutheran 1990 - Pacific Lutheran 1989 - Pacific Lutheran
1988 - Pacific Lutheran 1987 - Pacific Lutheran 1986 - Pacific Lutheran