FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU Department of Athletics has announced its 10th and final pair of 2019-20 monthly academic honorees. Beach volleyball junior Kayla Whetstone and baseball senior Marc Coffers were named Scholar-Athletes of the Month for May.

A female and male Eagle are chosen as the FGCU Athletics Scholar-Athlete of the Month throughout the academic year. Factors in the selection for this honor include a combination of significant athletic and overall academic success.

Whetstone (Arlington, TX/Arlington Lamar) is an Economics and Finance major, posting an overall GPA of 3.88. She's a three-time Dean's and President's list recipient and has landed a spot on the AD Honor each semester.

The Texas native was one of four Eagles to post a 4-0 record prior to the season being cut short, going 3-0 with Snowy Burnam at the No. 3 pair. All time, she's posted 44 wins in her two-plus seasons while recording a program-record .746 winning percentage.

"Balancing academics and athletics can be tough at times for any student but watching Kayla these last three years really shows what type of person she really is," said head coach Chris Sweat. "Her accomplishments on the court through wins, leadership and her 'first team mentality' is something every coach admires. Although, it's her grades and dedication to being a student-athlete is what impresses me so much more. Kayla is always willing to go the extra mile in all aspects of life and college. She promotes the sport she stands for and loves while being a great teammate and even better person."

Coffers (Naples, FL/Barron Collier HS) most recently obtained his undergraduate degree in Interdisciplinary Entrepreneurship Studies while recording a 3.65 GPA. He's a seven-time Dean's List honoree and has made the AD Honor Roll each semester.

The local product was one of four Eagles to start all 16 games this past season, hitting a team-best five doubles and tied for second on the team with eight runs scored as he batted .277. Coffers led the Green and Blue with six multi-hit games. He is expected to return back to the lineup for the 2021 season.

"Marc has always been a leader for us on and off the diamond," said head coach Dave Tollett. "His work in the classroom has been excellent and he's a great ambassador for our baseball program. It's a very deserving recognition from our Athletics Department and we're all very proud of him."

2019-20 Scholar-Athletes of the Month
August – Dana Axner (Volleyball) and Jahan Rajaee (Men's Soccer)
September – Evdokia Popadinova (Women's Soccer) and Marcelo Tebet (Men's Tennis)
October – Lindsey Patton (Women's Soccer) and Kareem Riley (Men's Soccer)
November – Cortney VanLiew (Volleyball) and TC Anderson (Men's Soccer)
December – Keri Jewett-Giles (Women's Basketball) and Caleb Catto (Men's Basketball)
January – Ailsa Clark (Women's Golf) and Hunter  McGarry (Baseball)
February – Wiktoria Czarnecka (Swimming & Diving) and Brian Ellis (Baseball)
March – McKenna Batterton (Softball) and Sam Gagliardi (Men's Basketball)
April – Maja Ornberg (Women's Tennis) and Doug Smith (Men's Golf)
May – Kayla Whetstone (Beach Volleyball) and Marc Coffers (Baseball)

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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 82 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 38 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 24, 2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. 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 (APR) in their sport and have had the highest percentage of teams so honored from these two groups over each of the past three years. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. 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--