Marywood University student athletes proved they perform just as well off the field at the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Team Academic Awards.

The CSAC Team Academic Awards announced three Marywood teams had received awards for the highest overall GPA for the Fall 2016 semester. These awards are presented to a team where student-athletes achieve the highest combined GPA for a specific semester.

According to marywoodpacers.com, the three teams that earned the top team GPA award for Fall 2016 include women’s tennis with an average 3.637 GPA, women’s soccer with an average 3.567 GPA and field hockey with a 3.469 average.

This is the second consecutive year that both women’s soccer and field hockey have received this award.

“I’m just really proud of them,” said Kacy Manning, head field hockey coach. “They work really hard to be really successful in the classroom and on the field. They know that performing well academically is an expectation of our team and they just get right after it.”

According to Manning, the freshmen on the field hockey team are required to attend a study hall each week for the year. She added that a team member must earn a 3.3 cumulative GPA to get out of study hall in the following years.

This did not only apply to the field hockey team, however. Sarah Corbo, a freshman soccer player, said that although study hall is not mandatory for her team, academic success is still a top priority.

“I mean we’re all here. We are actually taking classes for our careers so it’s important to get the full knowledge of what our class has to offer,” said Corbo.

Corbo said her teammates work together both on and off the field by getting together to help each other study.

Dr. Mary Jo Gunning, director of athletics and recreation, said, “Academic success is just as important as athletic success. We celebrate that and we embrace that. I think part of that is a catalyst to help our student athletes.”

Gunning said that this year’s win was not unexpected.

“Our team members are individuals first, students second, and athletes third. That is part of our mission,” said Gunning. “We are not athletes, we are student athletes, and I really believe that.”

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