UW-SP finishes seventh in Sears' Cup For the third time in four years, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point finished seventh in the Sears Director's Cup Standings, which measure the top overall athletic program in the NCAA Division III. The finish matches the school's highest finish ever, which was also accomplished in 1999-2000 and 1997-1998. There were 395 NCAA Division III schools during 2000-2001. Points are awarded based on finishes in NCAA tournament competition. UW-Stevens Point qualified for NCAA tournaments in 11 of 20 sports, posting all-time high finishes in women's soccer (third place), men's outdoor track and field (third place), men's indoor track and field (fourth place), women's indoor track and field (fourth place) and women's diving (eighth place). Other high finishes came from men's swimming and diving (sixth), women's cross country (ninth) and women's outdoor track and field (13th). UW-Stevens Point also qualified two wrestlers for the national meet and teams in softball and baseball. "I am extremely proud of UW-Stevens Point's athletics program," Chancellor Thomas George said. "To finish in the top 10 of the Sears Cup standings three out of four years is an outstanding achievement. I am eagerly looking forward to another great season of Pointer sports." The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference had three of the top eight finishers as UW-Oshkosh was sixth and UW-Eau Claire finished eighth. UW-La Crosse was 17th and UW-Whitewater was 23rd. Williams (Mass.) easily won its third straight overall title with 897.5 points, which was 169 more than second place Middlebury (Vt.). UW-Stevens Point had 538 points. * * * BENNETT TO WORK WITH AUSTRIAN TEAM: UW-SP men's basketball coach Jack Bennett will work this summer as a consultant and advisor with a developmental team of amateur high school and college players in St. Polten, Austria. Bennett will leave for Europe following the Pointer summer camps in late July and will work with the team for three-and-a-half weeks. He will be joined by his wife, Sue, on the trip. "It's the chance of a lifetime," Bennett said. "It's the chance to work in the sport I love and it will be our first time in Europe." The Austrian team is coached by Mauricio Parra, who has spent time in the United States and worked camps with Bennett's brother, Dick, at UW-Madison. Bennett will be advising the team on offensive arid defensive systems. A former high school history teacher, Bennett will also have time for sightseeing. He plans trips to Vienna, Munich, Budapest, Salzburg and Venice. "This opportunity really challenges my passion for basketball and excites our love of history," Bennett said. "It's one of the most historical parts of Europe and I'm thankful and grateful for the opportunity." * * * ADELMAN ADDED TO MEN'S BASKETBALL COACHING STAFF: David Adelman, who spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach at Division I Duquesne University, has been added to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point men's basketball staff as a graduate assistant coach. Adelman, a Highland Park, Ill. native, is a 1994 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. He previously coached four seasons at Division I Loyola University (Ill.) and currently operates the Hoops Education Camps in Chicago, Pittsburgh and Boston each summer. He also has been selected to coach the junior team in the upcoming World Maccabi Games. "We're excited about him from the standpoint of the circles he's traveled in recruiting," Bennett said. "He will help us a lot in Chicago and could even help us in recruiting out East." Adelman coached former Pointer Gabe Frank to a gold medal performance in the Maccabi Games in 1999. "I think it'll be a wonderful experience," Adelman said. "It's a great honor to join coach Bennett's staff and the tradition at Stevens Point. They've had great success in the past and I hope I can help carry that success into the future." * * * KOELBL NAMED DIRECTOR OF MEN'S BASKETBALL OPERATIONS: UW-Stevens Point men's basketball assistant coach Ken Koelbl has been named the team's Director of Basketball Operations. Koelbl, who is beginning his seventh year with the Pointers, will retain his current position as the team's top assistant coach. "This title just reflects the consistently fine job he has done in really helping us with the renaissance of basketball at the university," Bennett said. "This better describes what Ken's done for this program." Koelbl handles most of the team's administrative duties, including the direction of five summer basketball camps.