General 7/22/2019 9:22:00 AM Nicholas Huenefeld (@niklaustradamus)

Academic excellence continues for @FGCUEagles student-athletes

FORT MYERS, Fla. - FGCU athletics had another stellar semester in the classroom this past spring, registering a 3.32 spring term GPA, which was just shy of last year's record-breaking 3.35 finish. Forty student-athletes earned a 4.0 semester GPA, while the Green and Blue also finished with eight ASUN regular season and tournament championships in 2018-19 - bringing the department's tally to 78 in 12 years of Division-I play.

"We remain exceptionally proud of our student-athletes for the outstanding efforts they continue to put forth in the classroom, while also succeeding in their competitions and serving as role models throughout Southwest Florida," Director of Athletics Ken Kavanagh said. "It's also a strong testament to our student-athletes that they can produce these academic results while also earning several more conference championships and participating in postseason play. Their devotion to excellence is a source of pride for not only FGCU Athletics, but for the entire University. Likewise, we continue to be very appreciative of the tremendous roles that our outstanding faculty, Kelly Jean Brock and our academic staff, as well as our coaches and donors play in the overall equation."

Looking inside the 3.32 spring term GPA, 109 of the department's 259 student-athletes (42.1 percent) made the Dean's List, which requires a 3.5 or higher GPA. Just under 72 percent, or 186 of them, made the AD Honor Roll with at least a 3.0. Women's swimming and diving (6), women's soccer (5), volleyball (4), men's soccer (4) and women's cross country (4) all had at least four student-athletes achieve at least a 4.0 GPA.

Perfectly embodying success in and out of competitions, four student-athletes were named to their respective ASUN All-Academic teams in the spring, bringing the total to 13 for the year: Kohl Gilmore and Keith Stevens (baseball), Maggie Rick and Cortney VanLiew (volleyball), Destiny Washington and Lisa Zderadicka (women's basketball), Amanda Carroll (beach volleyball), Madeline Marck-Sherk (women's golf), Holly Fritz and Lindsey Patton (women's soccer), Julia Ascúa and Maja Ornberg (women's tennis) and Carley Lutzow (women's cross country).

In addition, Rick, Ascúa and Fritz were named ASUN Scholar Athlete of the Year in their respective sports, while Fritz was also named the ASUN's Co-Female Student-Athlete of the Year. On top of that, she earned First Team Academic All-American recognition by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and the United Soccer Coaches Association, the latter of which is a program first.

In swimming and diving, the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association (CSCAA) awarded Christina Kaas Elmgreen, Cassidy Fry and Gracie Redding as Honorable Mention Scholar All-American selections.

"The continued academic successes speak to the type of student-athletes our coaches recruit and the expectations they create for them in and outside of their fields of competitions," said Kelly Jean Brock, FGCUs Associate Athletics Director, Director of the Hartley Academic Resource Center. "With support from our campus partners and the athletics department, our student-athletes continue to excel in the classroom and set the bar high for future Eagles. We are grateful for a wonderful campus community that encourages, challenges and supports our student-athlete population."

All totaled, a record-tying 14 teams earned at least a 3.0 term GPA, 10 of which had a 3.3 or higher and six with at least a 3.48. Six teams either posted program-best term or cumulative GPAs. For men's basketball, the team's 3.05 post-spring cumulative GPA is the first above a 3.0 in the program's history. Beach volleyball has broken its previous cumulative GPA record in each of the past three semesters and men's golf has had at least a 3.33 in each of the past four semesters - the four highest in program history.

Additionally, Eagle student-athletes have now exceeded the FGCU undergraduate semester mark for the 20th-consecutive semester.

APR Success
In May, a school-record seven FGCU teams earned NCAA Public Recognition Awards, including women's basketball, volleyball, beach volleyball, men's tennis, women's tennis, women's golf and women's cross country. Teams earn the award by finishing in the top 10 percent of their sport in multi-year APR, which measures eligibility, graduation and retention each semester or academic term and provides a clear picture of the academic performance for each team in every sport.

With those seven teams, for the second straight year, FGCU had the most selections among all schools in the state of Florida and the ASUN.

BY THE NUMBERS

187 - ADs Honor Roll (3.0 or higher)
109 - Dean's List (3.5 or higher)
31 - President's List (4.0 or higher)
3.48 - female student-athlete cumulative GPA (3.18*)
3.45 - female student-athlete spring term GPA (3.14*)
3.15 - male student-athlete spring term GPA (2.84*)
3.11 - male student-athlete cumulative GPA (2.93*)
*FGCU general student population GPA

FOLLOW ALONG
Ticket information for upcoming events is available by logging on to FGCUTickets.com or by calling 239-590-7145. Additional news and schedule information is available at FGCUAthletics.com. Follow us on Twitter (@FGCUEagles), Facebook (/FGCUAthletics), Instagram (@FGCUAthletics) and YouTube (/FGCUAthletics).

#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 78 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 12 seasons at the Division-I level. Additionally, in just eight seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 36 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including both men's and women's soccer again in 2018. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2018 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for twenty consecutive semesters. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.

--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--

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