By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University's teams have earned fifth place in the Northwest Conference in the final standings for the 2023-24 McIlroy-Lewis All-Sports Trophy. It was Willamette's top finish in the All-Sports standings since 2016, when the Bearcats placed fifth.
During the 2023-24 academic year, the Bearcats won the NWC regular season championship in women's basketball and placed second in the NWC in baseball, men's golf, and women's lacrosse. Willamette was part of a three-way tie for third place in men's basketball. The volleyball and softball teams grabbed fourth place in the NWC and qualified for NWC Tournament berths.
Whitworth University won the 2023-24 McIlroy-Lewis All-Sports Trophy with 262 points. The Pirates won NWC championships in men's basketball, football, and men's swimming. George Fox University took second place in the All-Sports standings with 228 points. The Bruins won titles in men's and women's cross country, women's golf, women's lacrosse, men's tennis, and men's and women's track and field.
Third place in the All-Sports Standings went to Whitman College with 220 points. The Blues took first place in baseball, men's basketball, men's golf, women's swimming, and women's tennis. Linfield University placed fourth overall with 187 points, as the Wildcats claimed the NWC softball championship. Willamette was fifth in the All-Sports standings with 179 points. Completing the McIlroy-Lewis All-Sports Trophy standings for 2023-24 were Pacific Lutheran University in sixth place with 170 points, Pacific University in seventh place with 161 points, the University of Puget Sound in eighth place with 157 points, and Lewis & Clark College in ninth place with 133 points.
The Willamette womens' basketball team won the NWC title with a 12-4 record. The Bearcats hosted the NWC Tournament and took second place. Willamette was selected for the 2023-24 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament and played Millikin University (Ill.) in the first round. Millikin built a big lead in the first half and held off a strong rally by the Bearcats to defeat Willamette, 91-83.
In baseball, Willamette was 15-9 in the NWC, as the Bearcats finished a game behind Whitman. The Bearcats won the NWC Tournament in Walla Walla, Washington, with a 3-0 record and were chosen for the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament. The Bearcats are competing against Pomona-Pitzer College (Calif.) in a best-of-five, two-team regional.
Willamette's men's golf team rallied from a fifth place finish at the NWC Fall Classic, to take first place at the NWC Spring Classic and second place at the NWC Tournament to end the season in second place in the overall NWC standings.
Women's lacrosse at Willamette went 10-2 in the NWC and trailed only George Fox, which won the NWC title at 12-0. The Bearcats defeated Whitworth in the semifinals of the four-team NWC Tournament, before falling to GFU in the championship game.
The Willamette men's basketball team just missed the NWC Tournament despite finishing in a three-way tie for third place at 9-7. The Bearcats lost out on the final two NWC Tournament berths on tie-breakers. Willamette earned a 14-10 overall record for the team's best mark since going 12-11 in 2008-09.
Volleyball players at Willamette achieved a 9-7 NWC record and entered the NWC Tournament seeded fourth. Willamette fell to regular season champion Pacific Lutheran in the NWC semifinals. The Bearcats were 14-10 on the season.
In softball, Willamette went 13-15 in the NWC and qualified for the NWC Tournament in fourth place. The Bearcats fell to Linfield 6-5 in eight innings in the first round of the tournament, before falling to Pacific Lutheran 2-0 in an elimination game.
Willamette also placed fourth in the NWC in men's soccer and women's cross country. The Willamette men's swimming team placed fifth in the NWC after being picked to finish eighth in the NWC Preseason Poll.
