Out of every NCAA division II college in the country, Seton Hill University’s (SHU) women’s basketball achieved the third highest GPA as a team. SHU attained a team average of 3.591 merely trailing Michigan Tech with a 3.639 and University of South Dakota with a 3.649.
“This is a great honor for the members of our team, [our coaching staff], our athletic department and our university,” said coach Ferne Labati.
By Tiffany Gilbert,
Editorial Editor
Out of every NCAA division II college in the country, Seton Hill University’s (SHU) women’s basketball achieved the third highest GPA as a team. SHU attained a team average of 3.591 merely trailing Michigan Tech with a 3.639 and University of South Dakota with a 3.649.
“This is a great honor for the members of our team, [our coaching staff], our athletic department and our university,” said coach Ferne Labati.
SHU ended the 2007-2008 season with a 12-15 record, yet honorably securing a third place on the Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll. SHU achieved higher GPA’s than many major state universities around the country.
West Texas A&M University, Rockhurst University, and University of North Dakota were included on the list. This is the first time SHU has been honored by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) for academics.
“Before the season began, we made it our goal to be in the top 10 in the nation. Our players have not only met, but have exceeded our expectations,” said Labati.
While training, practicing, and traveling, women’s basketball was one of the few sports’ teams who did not attend mandatory study halls.
Teammates, Orit Farchi, a junior and Abby Marshall, a sophomore both achieved a 4.0 GPA.
“It wasn’t too much of an issue during the season to keep up with school work as long as you manage your time,” said Marshall, the team’s Scholar-Athlete this past year (an award she received at the annual banquet).
“Sometimes the games and practices were too tight with studies, but the coaches helped me a lot with the time management,” said Farchi.
“These women [epitomize excelling as student-athletes, and] I am very proud of each and every one of them,” said Labati.
As high hopes linger for the upcoming basketball season, “we should do better on the court this year and just as good in the classroom,” said Marshall.
Chris Bruce photo
