2012-13 Summit League Year in Review

7/2/2013 12:00:00 AM

2012-13 Season in Photos

2012-13 Highlights

THE SUMMIT LEAGUE

Produced one NCAA National Champion, eight All-Americans, 19 All-Region honorees, 13 Academic All-Americans, 26 Academic All-District selections and three NCAA Statistical Champions.
Denver became the newest member of The Summit League, announcing membership in November and officially joining the league on July 1, 2013.
Debuted the weekly “Inside The Summit League” highlights show that aired over 35 episodes from August-May. The program aired nationally on Fox College Sports.
Nationally televised games increased significantly, highlighted by 26 men’s and women’s basketball games on Fox College Sports plus additional broadcasts on the ESPN Family of Networks. The total included all men’s and women’s tournament games, three “Summit Saturday” doubleheaders and the only league to have primetime ESPN2 BracketBuster appearances on consecutive nights. The women’s soccer, volleyball indoor track and field and softball championships aired on a delayed basis on FCS.
The Summit League Basketball Championships set four significant attendance milestones in 2013. Total attendance (44,868), men’s tournament attendance (23,710), women’s tournament attendance (21,158) and women’s championship game attendance (6,153) all set records.
The Summit League extended its contract with Sioux Falls, S.D., during the fall and will continue its Basketball Championships there through 2017 with an option for another five years thereafter.
The league launched a newly upgraded website, www.thesummitleague.org, which includes additional video capabilities and social media features.
South Dakota State University claimed the “Food Fight” title by raising over 22,500 lbs. of food during the basketball season. The league-wide initiative combined to raise of 65,680 lbs. of food.
Former NCAA Champion Cameron Levins received the 2012 Bowerman Award, the nation’s top honor in collegiate track.
South Dakota’s track and field athlete Alexa Duling was named a Walter Byers Scholar, the NCAA’s most prestigious postgraduate honor.

BASEBALL

South Dakota State won its first Summit League Tournament title and earned the school’s initial NCAA Tournament bid.
Three Summit League players were drafted into MLB.
Omaha captured the regular season title in its first season in the league and just its second year at the Division I level.
The Summit League Tournament featured four shutout performances, doubling the previous record of two.
Three players were named to the Capital One Academic All-American Team.
Two players earned Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American nods.
North Dakota State’s John Straka was selected as a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award.
The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association named North Dakota State’s Tim Colwell to its preseason All-America Third Team and Kyle Kingsley to its Preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List.

BASKETBALL – MEN’S

South Dakota State’s Nate Wolters earned a trio of third team All-America honors, including the highest Associated Press and National Association of Basketball Coaches selections for a Summit League player.
For the first time in history, the league produced a pair of NCAA statistical champions in a single season. Oakland’s Travis Bader (three-point field goals per game) and Duke Mondy (steals per game) were national leaders.
The league has its second-consecutive top-20 RPI finish (19th) and had a pair of top-100 teams for the second-straight year and third time in the past four seasons.
Of the 20 Mid-Major Top 25 polls throughout the season, 15 saw at least three league teams receive votes, including 14 that featured multiple ranked teams. Three league teams appeared in the top 25 rankings during a stretch of seven-consecutive weeks.
Drafted No. 38 overall Nate Wolters became The Summit League’s third draft choice in the past six years. Wolters was part of a pair of draft night trades before ending up a member of the Milwaukee Bucks.
South Dakota State’s Nate Wolters and Oakland’s Travis Bader ranked 1-2 on the NCAA’s single-game scoring list for the 2012-13 season. Both earned national player of the week honors for their performances.
South Dakota State ended the season with the nation’s longest home court winning streak (30) after setting the league record.
Three student-athletes were selected as Capital One Academic All-District honorees and one was named to the Division I-AAA Athletic Directors Association’s Scholar-Athlete Team.
The league topped the nation in four KenPom.com statistical rankings for the second straight year.

BASKETBALL – WOMEN’S

League teams recorded its best Division I non-league (.422) and overall non-league (.483) winning percentages since the 2002-03 season.
Fort Wayne’s Amanda Hyde was named the Division I-AAA Athletic Directors Association Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Three student-athletes were named Capital One Academic All-Americans and two were named to the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association’s Scholar-Athlete team.
Three teams were selected to national postseason tournaments for the fourth consecutive year.
The league recorded four victories over “power conference” teams during the season.
South Dakota State extended its record-setting streak of Summit League Tournament titles to five.
Oakland head coach Beckie Francis was named the winner of the Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award, presented by the United State Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).

CROSS COUNTRY

North Dakota State’s Brecca Wahlund and Kansas City’s Cosmas Ayabei were named USTFCCCA All-Region. Wahlund also earned individual selection to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Cross Country Team
Three teams, two men’s and one women’s, finished the season ranked in the USTFCCCA Midwest Region top-15.

GOLF

Golf World named North Dakota State’s Amy Anderson as the No. 5 women’s golfer to watch entering the season.
North Dakota State captured its first women’s golf championship title. Kansas City earned the second men’s title in school history.
North Dakota State’s Amy Anderson broke the unofficial NCAA individual tournament titles record of 18 set by former San Jose State and current LPGA golfer Juli Inkster, according to Golf World. Anderson ended her career with 20 titles. She also became just the second student-athlete in any sport in league history to win Player of the Year honors four times.
North Dakota State golfers Nathan Anderson and Amy Anderson were named to the Capital One Academic All-America First Team.

SOCCER – MEN’S

A league-record eight players earned NSCAA/Continental Tire All-Region selections.
Kyle Hyland, the 2012 Summit League goals leader and a second team all-region performer, signed with the Columbus Crew and became the first IUPUI player to earn a Major League Soccer roster spot.
Oakland was the second team in league history to claim all four major individual awards in the same season.
Oakland’s Johnny Dreshaj was one of 30 named as Senior CLASS Award Candidates.
Western Illinois won its second consecutive tournament title and was the first team to achieve that feat since 2006.
IUPUI’s Eduardo Cortes placed fifth in the NCAA in saves per game.
Oakland’s Kyle Bethel became the first player to win the league’s Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year awards in the same season. He finished second in the NCAA in assists per game and total assists.

SOCCER – WOMEN’S

Western Illinois’ Sarah Hall was named to the CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District Second Team.
Oakland became just the second league team to move into the second round of the NCAA Tournament after advancing past Ohio State 3-1 in a shootout after a 1-1 draw.
Two players earned NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Second Team selections.

SOFTBALL

Fort Wayne won its first league title in program history.
Western Illinois’ Sammy Marshall was crowed the NCAA stolen base statistical champion for the second consecutive season, becoming the second back-to-back statisical champion in league history.
The league ranked as high as No. 17 in the RPI and ended the season at No. 18. The ranking marked the league’s all-time best RPI and a five-spot improvement over last season.
The league notched victories over eight different “power conference” teams during the season, including a pair of ranked teams during the season.
Three players were named to the NFCA Division All-Region Central Team, led by Omaha’s Allie Mathewson, who was a first team selection.
Two student-athletes earned Capital One Academic All-District second team honors.
North Dakota State’s Whitney Johnson became the league’s new career strikeout leader.
South Dakota qualified for the league tournament in its first season of eligibility.

SWIMMING & DIVING

Oakland’s Anders Jensen competed at the NCAA Championships, finishing 36th in the 200 back and 37th in the 100 back. He ranked as high as No. 6 in the nation in the 100 back and No. 24 in the 200 back during the season.
Both Oakland’s men’s and women’s teams were ranked as high as No. 23 in the CollegeSwimming.com nation poll. The OU men’s squad peaked at No. 4 in the CollegeSwimming.com Mid-Major Poll.
South Dakota State’s Phil Albu was named to the Capital One Academic All-District First Team.
Seven teams, four women’s and three men’s, garnered CSCAA Scholar All-America team honors.

TENNIS

Kansas City’s men became the first team to win three consecutive tournament titles since 2005. Fort Wayne’s women won their third tournament title in four years.
IUPUI’s Jason Jaruvang became the fifth men’s player in history to sweep the Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year honors.
South Dakota State and South Dakota each made their Summit League Women’s Tournament debuts.

TRACK & FIELD - INDOOR

North Dakota State’s Andy Lillejord and South Dakota’s Bethany Buell earned USTFCCCA first team All-America honors at the NCAA Championships. Lillejord finished seventh in the heptathlon, marking the league’s best men’s finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships while Buell took sixth in the pole vault for the second-best NCAA finish in league history.
Omaha’s Sami Spenner finished fourth in the pentathlon at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
South Dakota won its first league title in any sport and the first men’s league crown in program history.
North Dakota State won its record sixth-straight women’s league title.
North Dakota State’s women’s teams finished the season ranked 15th in the USTFCCCA Midwest Region rankings.

TRACK & FIELD - OUTDOOR

South Dakota’s Bethany Buell won the NCAA national pole vault title, becoming USD’s first NCAA champion and the league’s first female track and field national champion. Buell was the nation’s leading pole vaulter for eight-straight weeks and finished the season No. 1 in the TFRRS ranking.
The South Dakota women’s team tied for 18th (15 points) at the NCAA Championships, an all-time league-best team finish.
Four track and field athletes were named USTFCCCA first team All-Americans, while four others received honorable mention honors.
A total of 47 track and field athletes qualified for the NCAA Preliminary Rounds, including two in multiple events, while eight advanced to the NCAA Championships.
The league had 17 times/marks in the TFRRS season-ending NCAA top-50 rankings, including five in the top-15.
North Dakota State’s men’s and women’s teams finished the season ranked 15th and 11th in the USTFCCCA Midwest Region rankings.
The league peaked at No. 10 in the USTFCCCA women’s conference index, finished the regular season at No. 11 and entered the NCAA Championships at No. 12.
North Dakota State’s women won their record sixth consecutive league crown. It marked the second straight year that NDSU claimed the cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field titles, a feat achieved for only the seventh time in league history.

VOLLEYBALL

The league achieved an all-time best No. 12 RPI ranking, the highest of any sport all-time and an improvement of two spots over last season.
The league posted two victories over “power conference” opponents and recorded a .500 or better record against 16 conferences.
North Dakota State’s Brynn Joki was named AVCA All-America honorable mention and earned all-region honors. Two additional players received all-region honorable mention.

2012-13 Champions
Sport	Champion
Baseball	South Dakota State
Men's Basketball	South Dakota State
Women's Basketball	South Dakota State
Men's Cross Country	South Dakota State
Women's Cross Country	North Dakota State
Men's Golf	Kansas City
Women's Golf	North Dakota State
Men's Soccer	Western Illinois
Women's Soccer	Oakland
Softball	Fort Wayne
Men's Swimming & Diving	Oakland
Women's Swimming & Diving	Oakland
Men's Tennis	Kansas City
Women's Tennis	Fort Wayne
Men's Indoor Track & Field	South Dakota
Women's Indoor Track & Field	North Dakota State
Men's Outdoor Track & Field	North Dakota State
Women's Outdoor Track & Field	North Dakota State
Volleyball	Fort Wayne