2006 College Champions

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Jun 8, 2006

2006 College Champions

Football

Vince Young ran for 200 yards, passed for 267 and capped a brilliant day by scrambling untouched for an eight-yard touchdown with 19 seconds left to give No. 2 Texas a stunning 41-38 win over No. 1 Southern California in the Rose Bowl. Texas ended USC's 34-game winning streak.

Men's Cross-Country

Paced by Simon Bairu, who became the first Badger to win two NCAA individual titles, top-ranked Wisconsin clinched its first NCAA team title since 1988, breaking a three-year streak of second-place finishes.

Field Hockey

Maryland defeated rival Duke 1-0 to win the school's fourth field hockey championship. Junior midfielder Paula Infante was a rock for the Terps all season, winning National Player of the Year honors.

Men's Soccer

After losing in the semis for three straight seasons, Maryland finally got over the hump and defeated New Mexico 1-0. It was the Terrapins' first national soccer title since 1968.

Women's Soccer

Portland capped an unbeaten season (24-0-2) to win its second national title in three years. The Pilot, which became the only team other than North Carolina to remain undefeated while winning the championship, were led by Christine Sinclair, who set the tournament's all-time goal-scoring record, with 25.

Women's Volleyball

Washington's spikers became the school's third program to win a national title and only the second team to sweep through the NCAA tournament, in which the Huskies didn't lose a game in six matches. With the final victory over Nebraska, Jim McLaughlin became the first coach to capture Division I titles with both men's (USC, 1990) and women's teams.

Men's Water Polo

Justin McCain (left) and USC knocked off rival Stanford to grab the championship. The Trojans, who finished the season with a school-best 26-1 record and 19-game winning streak, were led by senior Juraj Zatovic, who scored in every game of the season except the final.

Men's Basketball

Florida, led by Joakim Noah, the NCAA tournament's Most Outstanding Player, won its final 11 games and finished a magical season with a 73-57 victory over UCLA. The Gators brought home the school's first national basketball title as Billy Donovan became the third person to play in a Final Four and win an NCAA championship as a head coach.

Women's Basketball

The Maryland Terrapins, who were 6-0 in overtime games this season, won their first NCAA title by erasing a 13-point deficit to force OT before beating Duke 78-75. Freshman Kristi Toliver nailed a three-pointer at the end of regulation and iced the win with two free throws with 35 seconds left in OT.

Gymnastics

The No. 1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs, successfully defended their title, scoring a season high 49.65 on vault in the final event. The Bulldogs have won the title seven times in 23 championship appearances.

Men's Hockey

Wisconsin withstood a late flurry by Boston College, including a shot that dinked off the goalpost in the final seconds, and defeated the Eagles 2-1 to win their sixth national championship, and first since 1990.

Women's Hockey

Behind the steady netminding of freshman Jessie Vetter, the Badgers won their first NCAA championship with a 3-0 victory over two-time defending champ Minnesota. Wisconsin is the first school in NCAA history to win the men's and women's ice hockey championships in the same year.

Swimming/Diving

Auburn's men won their fourth straight title, while the women nipped host Georgia in the second-closest NCAA championships ever, 518.5 to 515.5, for their fourth championship in five years.

Wrestling

Johny Hendricks and the Cowboys won their fourth straight and 34th overall wrestling championship.

Men's Lacrosse

Not only did Virginia have a perfect season at 17-0, but it also won all but one regular-season game by more than five goals and trailed for only 50 minutes, 16 seconds. Seniors Matt Ward and Matt Poskay each had five goals in the championship-game victory over UMass, leading the Cavaliers to their fourth national title.

Women's Lacrosse

Despite having a target on its back all season, Northwestern rolled to its second consecutive title by defeating Dartmouth 7-4. After the Wildcats squeaked by Duke 11-10 in the semifinals and lost leading scorer Kristen Kjellman to a sprained right ankle in the finals, Sarah Albrecht would not let her team lose. She tallied two second-half goals on the way to winning tournament MVP honors.

Women's Tennis

No. 1-ranked Stanford appeared in the title match for the 20th time in the 25-year history of the championship and posted a 4-1 victory over seventh-seeded Miami to claim the Cardinal's third straight and 15th overall women's team title. Stanford also improved its NCAA-record win streak to 86 matches.

Men's Tennis

After winning its first 30 matches of the season, No. 1-ranked, undefeated Georgia expected to cruise to the national championship. But second-ranked Pepperdine (36-2) had other ideas. The Waves, led by Ivor Lovrak, Omar Altmann and Andre Begemann -- who all won singles matches in the championship -- defeated Georgia 4-2 to capture the title. Pepperdine became the first team from the West Coast to ever win the championship.

Men's Golf

Led by the cool play of Jonathan Moore, Oklahoma State took the title for the 10th time in school history, and first since 2000. Moore led the way for first-year coach Mike McGraw's Cowboys, finishing with a 12-under 276 total for a four-stroke victory.

Women's Golf

The Duke women claimed their fourth NCAA championship with a four-day total of 1,167 -- 10 strokes better than runner-up USC. The title was the second straight for the Blue Devils, whose four championships are the most by any Duke team in school history.

2006 College Champions