Colorado University Athletics
CU Honors Fall Athletic Achievements
BOULDER GÇö After a very successful 2013 fall campaign, members of the University of Colorado athletic department gathered on Tuesday evening at the Champions Recognition Dinner to celebrate the many successes of the soccer, volleyball and the menGÇÖs and womenGÇÖs cross country teams, which included the CU menGÇÖs fourth NCAA Cross Country Championship.
The Buffs are ranked 10th in the Learfield Cup standings after the fall season which includes more than 360 NCAA Division I programs. CU Athletic Director Rich George welcomed the crowd of 200 which included CU Chancellor Phil DiStefano, Vice-Chancellor of Student Affairs Deb Coffin, CU Associate AD Ceal Barry and CU Regent Steve Bosley, as well as many of CUGÇÖs 17 varsity programs head and assistant coaches.
CU won its fourth NCAA Cross Country title in November, placing four of its five scorers in the top 40 to earn All-America honors. The Buffs recorded 149 points to best top-ranked Northern Arizona by20 points (169) and second-ranked and defending NCAA Champion Oklahoma State by 61 points (230). Freshman Ben Saarel led the team with an eighth-place finish, becoming the first Buff since 2002 to earn All-America honors as a true freshman. CUGÇÖs other three All-Americans included junior Morgan Pearson (17th), junior Blake Theroux (23rd) and sophomore Pierce Murphy (39th). Sophomore Ammar Moussa rounded out CUGÇÖs score with a 95th-place finish.
Earlier in the season, the men won their third straight Pac-12 Conference with all five of its scorers finishing in the top nine. Theroux led the team with a third-place finish and sophomore Connor Winter was the fourth harrier to cross the line. Saarel finished fifth and Murphy was seventh. Those four were named to the All-Pac-12 First Team, while Moussa earned recognition on the second team with a ninth-place finish. During the year, the Buffs spend two polls ranked No. 1 and were never ranked below third.
The womenGÇÖs cross country team also had a great season, finishing with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships. The Buffs were led by senior Shalaya Kipp, who placed ninth at NCAAs, became CUGÇÖs first four-time female All-American in cross country. The womenGÇÖs team also won the NCAA Mountain Region Championship with all seven runners finishing in the top-15. Just a couple weeks prior to regionals, they placed second at the Pac-12 Championships, just six points behind top-ranked Arizona (69-75). Kipp, sophomore Carrie Verdon, freshman Erin Clark and freshman Melanie Nun were members of the All-Pac-12 Second Team.
The soccer team had a great run into the NCAA Tournament, advancing all the way to the Sweet Sixteen before falling to No. 3 Florida State. It was just the second time in school history the Buffs had moved on to the Sweet Sixteen, the last coming in 2006. CU finished the season 14-7-2 overall and tied for sixth in the Pac-12 with a 4-5-2 record. The Buffs recorded a program-best five shutouts and six wins to begin the season and also had a program-best eight regular season nonconference wins. Senior Anne Stuller was selected to the All-Pac-12 Second Team and senior Lizzy Herzl was named to the honorable mention squad.
The volleyball team advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006, moving on to the second round before falling to No. 10 Minnesota in five sets. CU finished with a, 18-14 record, its first season above .500 since 2006, and tied for seventh in the Pac-12 with a 9-11 record. The Buffs knocked off three ranked opponents during the season, including top-ranked Washington. It was just the second time in school history that CU had defeated a No. 1 ranked opponent. The Buffs also defeated No. 11 UCLA and No. 25 Arizona and all three wins were at the Coors Events Center. Two Buffs, sophomore Nicole Edelman and junior Taylor Simpson, were named to the All-Pac-12 honorable mention team.
The football team also had individuals receive All-Pac-12 recognition during the 2013 season. Junior Paul Richardson was named to the offensive first team, while three others, freshman Mike Adkins, freshman Addison Gilliam and junior Will Oliver were named to the honorable mention team.
Besides the athletic accomplishments in the fall, the Buffs also saw great academic success as 38 student-athletes were named to the Pac-12 All-Academic teams. Six were selected to the first team, five to the second team and 27 earned honorable mention recognition.
All student-athletes who earned All-Pac-12 recognition or higher, as well as those who received Pac-12 All-Academic recognition were invited to attend the dinner along with the soccer, volleyball and menGÇÖs and womenGÇÖs cross country teams.