Cardinal women athletes win another Capital One Cup at ESPYs

Highlighted by three NCAA championships, Stanford captured its record fourth Women’s Athletics Program Capital One Cup with the 2016-17 crown.

The award was recognized during the annual ESPY sports award ceremony, aired live on ABC Wednesday, July 12. Onstage were alumna NNEKA OGWUMIKE, star of the Los Angeles Sparks, with INKY AJANAKU, star of the national championship women’s volleyball team.

Volleyball star Inky Ajanaku

Stanford, which also won the Women’s Athletics Program Capital One Cup during the 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2014-15 seasons, owns the most Women’s Athletics Program Capital One Cup trophies with four in the first seven years of the Capital One Cup program.

The CARDINAL captured five national championships during the 2016-17 season, winning NCAA women’s titles in volleyball, swimming and diving, and water polo. (Stanford also claimed the NCAA title in men’s soccer and the Intercollegiate Rowing Association national championship in women’s lightweight rowing.)

Stanford’s women’s athletic programs, which totaled 12 top-10 finishes in 2016-17, captured the Capital One Cup lead in the fall and held the top spot throughout the year, en route to a Capital One Cup points record of 175.5. USC finished second with 129 points.

The Capital One Cup is awarded annually to each of the best men’s and women’s Division I college athletics programs in the country. Points toward the Capital One Cup are earned and tracked throughout the year based on final standings of NCAA Championships and final official coaches’ polls.

Capital One awards a combined $400,000 in student-athlete scholarships and the Capital One Cup trophy to the winning schools.