Bulldog Swim Teams Tops In the Nation Academically
February 05, 2009 | Swimming
Phoenix, Ariz. – The Gardner-Webb men's and women's swimming teams made a splash nationally on Thursday afternoon, this time being rewarded for their hard work and dedication outside of the pool and in the classroom, as the Bulldogs led all of the NCAA Division I schools that sponsor swimming programs in men's and women's teams combined grade point average, according to the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA).
With the men and women's teams combined grade point average (GPA),
the Bulldogs led Division I and topped the SPEEDO Academic
All-American list with a 3.475 GPA. Georgetown was second at 3.36,
with Lafayette (3.335), Brown (3.305) and Eastern Michigan (3.30)
rounding out the top-five.
On the men's side, the Bulldogs were top dog, as the men's team
ranked first nationally with a 3.33 GPA, edging out Georgetown
University by just .01 of a point.
The GWU women were ranked second in the nation among all NCAA
Division I women's swim teams, putting together a collective GPA of
3.62, only .02 of a point behind the women of Marshall University
who took first-place.
"This is a testament to a fantastic group of student-athletes that
understands why they're in college ... to get a great education and
to swim fast," commented head swim coach Mike Simpson. "We give God
the glory because He gave them the ability to do this and the
desire to use those abilities to honor Him."
A total of 273 teams – 184 women's and 89 men's – made
the listings by recording a team grade point average of 3.00 or
better during the fall semester of 2008.
The CSCAA sponsors the awards and collects the data each semester
from college swim teams throughout the USA before producing the
official list.
For a complete listing of the SPEEDO Academic All-American teams
you can go to:
http://collegecoaches.org/rank/aadivisionIF08.shtml.
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