ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA — For the third consecutive year, Winthrop University's student-athletes have raised the spring semester cumulative grade point average to its highest level
since department officials first began tracking semester-by-semester academic averages
for its teams in 1998.
The university's 18 sports teams combined to raise their cumulative GPA to a record-high
3.20 while finishing the spring semester with a 3.22. According to Joanna Harris, assistant athletic director for Student-Athlete Services, 12 teams had cumulative
GPAs of better than 3.0.
Nine of 10 women's teams compiled a 3.0 or above, making the semester average for
all women's teams a 3.34.The eight men's teams finished at the highest-ever semester
average of 3.08.
The top GPA for a women's team was achieved by the tennis squad at 3.66. The other women's teams with above 3.0 GPA's were:
Golf, 3.59
Softball, 3.52
Cross Country, 3.5
Lacrosse, 3.46
Soccer, 3.42
Indoor Track, 3.18
Outdoor Track, 3.18
Volleyball, 3.17
The GPAs for lacrosse and softball were the best in the histories of the two programs.
On the men's side, tennis achieved the highest semester GPA at 3.56, while soccer, 3.32, and golf, 3.28, also
bettered the 3.0 mark. Soccer had eight student-athletes with a perfect 4.0 for the term, and the 3.28 GPA for golf was the best in the program's
history.
The 2017 spring semester report card shows that 31 student-athletes achieved perfect
4.0 GPAs to earn President's List recognition, while 86 compiled a GPA between 3.5 and 3.99 to earn Dean's List honors.
A total of 43 student-athletes graduated during May Commencement, and of that group, nine graduated Cum Laude (GPA of 3.50-3.74) and five graduated
Magna Cum Laude (GPA of 3.75-3.89).
"Coming to Winthrop, I was excited to join a department truly committed to academic
excellence in addition to athletic achievement," athletic director Ken Halpin said. "These continued academic accomplishments by our student-athletes are the
reason we exist as an institution, and I'm so proud of the effort placed by everyone
to continue this record-breaking success."
For more information, contact Brett Redden, assistant sports information director, at 803/323-2129, ext. 6246, or e-mail him
at reddenb@winthrop.edu.