Previous Suncoast Credit Union Student-Athletes of the Month
FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Suncoast Credit Union FGCU Athletics Scholar-Athletes of the Month for January 2023 have been announced, with senior women's tennis player
Emma Bardet (
Vichy, France/Long Beach State) and junior men's basketball player
Isaiah Thompson (
Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville HS/Purdue) earning the honor.
One male and female Eagle are chosen each month as the FGCU Athletics scholar-athlete throughout the academic year. Factors in the selection for the honor include a combination of significant athletic and overall academic success. Women's basketball player
Sha Carter and men's tennis player
Markus Maurer earned the December 2022.
The award is the first for both Bardet and Thompson. It is the 10
th Scholar-Athlete of the Month award for FGCU women's tennis, and the 15
th for men's basketball.
Bardet and senior
Ida Ferding (
Vasteras, Sweeden/Akademi Bastad Gymnasium) are FGCU's leading doubles team this season, with a 5-3 record. Bardet is 4-2 in singles so far this season, as the Eagles are 7-2 heading into Wednesday's matchup against Florida.
A 2021-22 ASUN All-Academic Team member, Bardet helped FGCU earn ASUN regular-season crown for just the third time in program history as a junior. Bardet transferred from Long Beach State after a freshman campaign that saw her earn All-Big West honors.
A business management major, Bardet carries a 3.828 cumulative GPA – and recorded a 3.86 term GPA in the fall of 2022.
"Emma is an extremely talented motivated and hard-working woman," said FGCU head women's tennis coach
Courtney Vernon. "She is an example of someone who was not given a lot but learned how to work hard and achieve her goals. She puts a lot of emphasis on her studies and she is a leader on this team."
Thompson leads the Eagles men's basketball team in scoring at 14.9 points per game and also deals a team-best 3.2 assists per outing. He has led the Eagles in scoring in 13 games this season entering Wednesday, and has also made 76 3-pointers.
Thompson has started all 29 games in the 2022-23 season, and has 53 starts and 124 appearances counting his performance at Purdue from 2019-22.
An organizational leadership major, Thompson carries a 3.8 cumulative GPA – and recorded a 3.75 term GPA in the fall of 2022.
"Isaiah is a leader both on and off the court, and his dedication to being a student-athlete is impressive," said FGCU head men's basketball coach
Pat Chambers. "We ask a lot of Isaiah as a point guard and a primary scorer, and his commitment to excellence to making us a better basketball team is evident every day. His commitment to his education is equally important to Isaiah, which is why he is deserving of this award."
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E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN IT TAKES A TEAM
To achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/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 https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 94 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 47 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22 and No. 25 in 2022-23) beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green & 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 3.66 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2022 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 27 consecutive semesters. The past seven semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative 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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