Gannon Women's Lacrosse Team Posts Nation's Second-Highest Team GPA
The Gannon women's lacrosse team continues to be one of the best in the nation on the field and in the classroom.
Dan Teliski, Director of Athletic Media Relations
8/24/2009 12:08:46 PM
ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon women’s lacrosse team is one of three NCAA Division II programs to be named as a Merit Squad by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA), it was announced Monday afternoon.
The IWLCA honored nine NCAA Division II institutions with Academic Squad honors, including three that were named Merit Squads. Teams with a collective grade-point average of 3.0 or greater earned the distinction of Academic Squad. The teams with the three highest team grade-point averages earned the honor of being named a Merit Squad.
West Chester led all schools with a 3.407 team GPA. Gannon posted the nation’s second-highest team grade-point average, producing a 3.345 mark. Belmont Abbey was the final Merit Squad with a 3.21 team GPA.
Head coach Alicia Groveston’s squad concluded its first season in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) with a 12-4 overall record and 5-3 conference mark. The program has reached double digits in victories five consecutive seasons and has never recorded a losing season in its 14-year history.
Gannon was ranked eighth in the final IWLCA Top 10 poll and narrowly missed PSAC and NCAA tournament berths after an overtime loss at Lock Haven in the regular-season finale.
Academically, 10 Lady Knights were named PSAC Scholar-Athletes during their first season in the league. The team produced a combined 3.34 team GPA during the 2009 spring semester. It was part of an amazing semester in which all nine women’s athletic teams at Gannon recorded a team GPA of 3.31 or better.