High Point, NC - The University of Mount Olive won the Conference Carolinas Joby Hawn Cup with the completion of the recent league spring championships. The Trojans took the overall and men’s individual sports award. Limestone College and Mount Olive tied for the women’s prize and will share the 2013-14 women’s season title. The Hawn Cup is awarded to the league members that show the highest rating of excellence in all men’s conference-sponsored sports, all women’s conference-sponsored sports, and both the men’s and women’s conference-sponsored sports combined. The Hawn Cup is tallied after each sport season (fall, winter, & spring) and then awarded each year in honor of former Commissioner H.C. "Joby" Hawn for his many years of service to the former Carolinas Conference. 

This is the fourth consecutive year that the Hawn Cup is comprised of three different awards that include: the women’s sports award, the men’s sports award, and the overall cup winner (combining both the men & women’s results). Hawn Cup points are awarded in each sport based on the order of regular season finish with bonus points going to the tournament champion (2 pts.) and runner-up finishers (1pt.). Men's & women’s golf, men's and women's cross country, and men’s and women’s indoor & outdoor track & field are the only conference sponsored sports in which points are determined solely by conference tournament finish.

The University of Mount Olive made their move for the overall title during the winter season when they jumped from third to first after the fall frame and never looked back. During the spring season they separated themselves by turning a 2.5 point winter lead into a 15.5 point margin going away. With the highest rating of .903 among league members, Mount Olive claims their second Hawn Cup and second title in the last three years (2011-12 & 2013-14). 

Mount Olive dominated league spring championships from an overall perspective as they took bonus points by finishing first or second in the championship events in eight out of the eleven spring sports for a .903 rating. They ended up finishing first or second in 13 out of 20 sports to collect the all important bonus points. Championships were claimed in men’s cross country, men’s and women’s indoor track & field, men’s and women’s outdoor track & field, softball, baseball, and men’s tennis. Runner-up finishes were secured in women’s cross country, women’s basketball, women’s golf and men’s volleyball.

Last year’s Hawn Cup winner, Limestone College, finished second in the overall standings with an .812 mark by jumping over King University in the spring season. The Saints took six tournament titles and two runner-up finishes for the year. Tournament Championships for Limestone were men’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s golf, and men’s and women’s lacrosse while runner-up finishes were men’s golf and women’s outdoor track & field.

King University finished third overall for the third straight year with a .722 rating. In their third year of conference membership, the Tornado won the women’s cross country while finishing runner-up in men’s cross country, women’s volleyball, men’s basketball, women’s indoor track & field, softball, and baseball.

Erskine marks their highest finish in recent history with a fourth place overall finish and rating of .652.  Barton, North Greenville, and Pfeiffer were close behind with ratings of .525, .510, and .475 correspondingly. Rounding out the schools in order were Belmont Abbey.471, Converse .372, and Lees-McRae .310 respectively.

Mount Olive also took the individual title in the men’s conference-sponsored sports and set a new men’s league record by scoring a .987 mark and securing 78 earned points. The Trojans won or finished runner-up in seven out of the ten total men’s league sports. Titles in cross-country, indoor track & field, outdoor track & field, baseball, and tennis combined with runner-up finishes in lacrosse and volleyball lead to the title with a 15.5 point margin. Rounding out the top three, Limestone finished with a .791 rating followed by Erskine at .783.

Limestone and Mount Olive share the individual title in the women’s conference-sponsored sports. This is the first time in the league’s history of the award that there has been a winning tie. Both teams finished with a .830 rating piling-up 75.5 points each. Limestone won the basketball, golf, and lacrosse championships and a had runner-up finish in outdoor track & field. Meanwhile Mount Olive did their damage by winning titles in indoor track & field, outdoor track & field, and softball with runner-up finishes in cross-country, basketball, and golf. The women’s top three teams following Limestone and Mount Olive were King (.768), Belmont Abbey (.571), & Barton (.548).

Link to the FULL 2013-14 Current Joby Hawn Cup Standings:

http://www.conferencecarolinas.com/sports/hawn_cup/20082511_AwardsIndex