FORT MYERS, Fla. --- The FGCU volleyball and beach volleyball programs were each awarded the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award on Monday. The beach program also earned Team Academic Honor Roll recognition by finishing among the top 20 percent in its sport.
 
On the beach side, the Eagles compiled a 3.77 cumulative GPA in the academic year, which is the highest in program history. In the spring semester, a trio of players earned 4.0 GPAs following a fall in which six had perfect grades. Following a successful spring season, Kayla Whetstone became the program's first-ever ASUN Scholar Athlete of the Year, while she was joined by Giovanna Borgiotti on the conference's all-academic team.
 
"This award is something our program is very proud of," FGCU beach volleyball head coach Chris Sweat said. "All the girls take their on and off the court responsibilities very seriously and this shows just how hard they worked all season. I'm very proud of the accomplishments of every one of them."
 
Below is a list of all schools to finish among the top 20 percent of all beach programs:
 
Boise State
FGCU
Florida Southern
Georgia State
Grand Canyon
Jacksonville State
Jacksonville
Loyola Marymount
Stanford
Arizona
Louisiana-Monroe
North Florida
South Carolina
Vanguard
Wayne State College (Neb.)
 
The volleyball program compiled a 3.52 cumulative team GPA during the academic year. They had four student-athletes earn a 4.0 GPA in the fall followed by two more in the spring. Following the first-ever spring season due to Covid-19, the trio of Dana Axner, Chelsey Lockey and Cortney VanLiew each made the ASUN's All-Academic Team. VanLiew and Axner also earned CoSIDA First Team Academic All-District recognition, while Axner went on to become the program's first-ever Academic All-American with her third team selection.
 
"Our players take a lot of pride in academics so it's nice to see them being recognized for their commitment to the classroom," FGCU volleyball head coach Matt Botsford said. "I'm always impressed with their collective ability to balance school and sport, and I really appreciate the difficulty in doing so."
 
The AVCA Team Academic Award, which was created following the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that display excellence in the classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale.
 
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ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 85 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 42 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 21, 2020-21), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) 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 in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.38 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2021 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 24 consecutive semesters. The 2020 Fall, 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, and 2020 Fall 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.
 
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