Lock Haven, Pa. – Seven different institutions have claimed Top Team GPA Awards for the 2012-13 season it was announced today by Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Commissioner Steve Murray. Now in their second year of existence, the awards are issued across 21 separate sports.
The awards, released at the conclusion of the academic year, honor the teams with the top cumulative team grade point average in each of the sponsored sports within the PSAC. The league hosts 23 championships, however, for the award purposes, indoor and outdoor track & field are counted as a single sport.
Mercyhurst led all PSAC schools with seven of its teams - women’s golf, women’s lacrosse, women’s soccer, men’s basketball, men’s tennis, football and wrestling - earning top team GPAs among their sports groups. Gannon claimed the honors in baseball, men’s cross country, men’s golf, women’s basketball, women’s cross country and softball to fall just one shy of Mercyhurst’s total. Indiana (Pa.), Edinboro and California (Pa.), with two, were other multiple-sport winners, while Clarion and Slippery Rock claimed one apiece.
Following last year’s inaugural season, 12 league institutions recorded an increase in cumulative GPAs, and of the 260 teams in the PSAC, 154 (60%) increased their team GPAs. Of the winning totals, 11 teams registered a GPA of at least 3.4, two better than a year ago. Overall, the average GPA for the entire PSAC increased by .02 – 3.04 to 3.06.
Mercyhurst held the institution high GPA average of 3.252, while ten teams had a GPA of at least 3.5 or greater. The top two GPAs for a team were both recorded in cross country. Gannon’s 3.719 average was closely followed by Mansfield’s 3.633.
Listed below are the winners of each Top Team GPA Award by sport, with the team cumulative GPA also listed next to each winning team.
|
Sport |
Team |
Team GPA |
|
Baseball |
Gannon |
3.210 |
|
Men's Basketball |
Mercyhurst |
3.176 |
|
Women's Basketball |
Gannon |
3.489 |
|
Men's Cross Country |
Gannon |
3.532 |
|
Women's Cross Country |
Gannon |
3.719 |
|
Field Hockey |
Slippery Rock |
3.470 |
|
Football |
Mercyhurst |
2.814 |
|
Men's Golf |
Gannon |
3.396 |
|
Women's Golf |
Mercyhurst |
3.523 |
|
Men's Soccer |
California |
3.292 |
|
Women's Lacrosse |
Mercyhurst |
3.383 |
|
Women's Soccer |
Mercyhurst |
3.415 |
|
Softball |
Gannon |
3.435 |
|
Men's Swimming |
IUP |
3.071 |
|
Women's Swimming |
California |
3.438 |
|
Men's Tennis |
Mercyhurst |
3.429 |
|
Women's Tennis |
IUP |
3.560 |
|
Men's Track & Field |
Edinboro |
3.231 |
|
Women's Track & Field |
Edinboro |
3.543 |
|
Volleyball |
Clarion |
3.583 |
|
Wrestling |
Mercyhurst |
2.995 |