Penn State Altoona softball’s first baseman Gianna Hoppel of Lewistown was among the 2,369 Division III softball student-athletes recognized by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association for academic success in 2022-23.
NORTH BOSTON, N.Y. — For the third consecutive year, Penn State Altoona Athletics has come in second place in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference’s Presidents Cup race.
The conference office released its final standings on Thursday, May 23, with Penn State Altoona ranking second out of 10 full AMCC member institutions. During the 2023-24 season, Lions teams combined to score 67.1% of their possible points across the fall, winter, and spring sports.
Penn State Behrend claimed the Presidents Cup by winning 92.5% of its possible points. Penn State Altoona edged out third-place Alfred State College, which won 67.0% of its possible points.
The AMCC Presidents Cup race is an annual battle between the conference’s full member institutions to determine the most successful athletics programs in the league each year. Each member school is designated with a total number of achievable points, based on what AMCC sports they sponsor. Overall rankings are then determined by each school’s percentage of the actual number of points won out of the total points possible. Team successes in the regular season and postseason determine point totals.
Penn State Altoona combined to score 71.75 points out of a possible 107, taking second place among all conference schools by winning 67.1% of its possible points.
In the fall sports season, the Penn State Altoona women’s volleyball and men’s golf teams led the scoring for the Lions, accumulating 9.25 and nine points, respectively, thanks to their AMCC championship wins. The department’s five fall sports — men’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, and women’s tennis — combined for 32.25 points.
Penn State Altoona went on to score 20 points in winter sports, which included the seasons for men’s and women’s basketball, women’s bowling, and men’s and women’s swimming. The Lions women’s basketball team was the department’s high scorer in winter, putting up 7.25 points, followed by 4.75 points from men’s basketball.
The Lions capped the 2023-24 season with 19.5 points in spring sports, which consisted of men’s volleyball, men’s tennis, softball, and baseball. Softball led in points among Penn State Altoona’s spring teams, scoring 9.5. Baseball came next with 8.5 points.
At the end of the 2023-24 season, Penn State Altoona totaled 71.75 points out of its possible 107, giving the department a second-place Presidents Cup finish for the third straight year.
