Converse Wins Men’s Hawn Cup for First Time in Program History
The Conference Carolinas office released the Joby Hawn Cup final standings, and for the first time in program history Converse University earned the men’s Hawn Cup.
The Joby Hawn Cup is the annual all-sports award for Conference Carolinas. The Hawn Cup is named after H.C. “Joby” Hawn, who became the first full-time Commissioner of what was then known as the Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and now Conference Carolinas. Following his retirement from the conference in 1976, Conference Carolinas began awarding the Hawn Cup annually in his honor.
Converse won the Hawn Cup with a 91.1 percentage rating, narrowly beating out UNC Pembroke (90.6 percent) and Mount Olive (79.7 percent). This season the Valkyries saw success from the start with the cross country team garnering their first runner-up finish at the Conference Carolinas Championships. The men’s soccer team won the Northwest Division Championships and was a top-two seed in the Conference Carolinas Tournament.
The men’s basketball team made it to the postseason for a third straight season and advanced to the second round for just the second team in program history. The men’s swim team finished third overall in the Conference Carolinas Championships in just their second season as a program. Rounding out the winter season, the men’s track & field team won the Conference Carolinas Indoor Championship.
During the spring season, the men’s tennis team had a runner-up finish at the Conference Carolinas Championship and they were a top-two seed in the Conference Carolinas Tournament for the first time in program history. The men’s track & field team finished runner-up at the Conference Carolinas Outdoor Championships.
The Valkyries coaches also raked in the accolades this past season: Mark Rennix, Rob Miller, Brandon Morton, and Logan Simpson were all named Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year for their respective sports. James Smith was named the ITA Southeast Region Coach of the Year.
In the women’s only standings, Converse finished fifth with a 65.4 percentage rating. UNC Pembroke, Mount Olive, Francis Marion, and Belmont Abbey all finished ahead of the Valkyries. In the fall the women’s team’s found success just as often as the men’s teams. The women’s cross country team finished runner-up in the Conference Carolinas Championships, while the Volleyball team claimed the Northwest Division Championship and their first ever Conference Carolinas Tournament Championship.
The field hockey team made it back to the postseason, while the women’s soccer team made it to the quarterfinals round of the Conference Carolinas Tournament for first time in over a decade. The women’s indoor track & field team finished runner-up at the Conference Carolinas Championships, while the women’s basketball team made a return trip to the postseason. The women’s swim team finished fourth overall at the Conference Carolinas Championships and a few podium finishes as well.
During the spring season, the softball team made their first ever appearance in the Conference Carolinas Championships, the acrobatics & tumbling team qualified for postseason for the sixth straight season and won the inversion pyramid event. The golf team posted a sixth place finish in the Conference Carolinas Championships, while the women’s tennis team qualified for the postseason for the second straight season. The women’s outdoor track & field team finished third overall at the Conference Carolinas Championships.