News Release

Wilmington University Softball Team’s Collective GPA Ranks #2 Among NCAA Division II Programs

Seven Student Athletes Named All-America Scholar Athletes

Wilmington University announced today that their softball team ranks second among NCAA Division II programs with a collective grade point average (GPA) of 3.546. Led by seven players with at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced the 2012 NFCA Top 10 All-Academic Team Rankings for the 2011-12 academic year among all three NCAA Divisions, including the NAIA, Junior College and High School programs.

"I am extremely proud of this team, not only for the dedication and effort they gave on the field, but more importantly, for the countless hours of hard work put forth towards their studies in the classroom”, stated former head coach and current Assistant Athletic Director and Compliance Coordinator, Erin Harvey. “It is a great honor to be ranked second in the nation and considered one of the NFCA’s top All-Academic Teams. I am ecstatic to see our student-athletes rewarded for their efforts and couldn’t be more proud to have been their coach.”

Proving the team can get it done on the softball diamond and in the classroom, WilmU trailed NCAA Division II’s first place Grand Canyon University by less than a tenth of a percentage point, whose team carried a 3.60 grade point average. Pace University (3.527), Texas Women’s University (3.51) and the University of Southern Indiana (3.51) round out the top five Division II programs. Robert Morris University took the highest honor in NCAA Division I with a 3.6097 team GPA. Wilmington University has the 16th highest grade point average among all three NCAA divisions.

Student-athletes that reached a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average across the NCAA Division II platform for the 2011-12 academic school year were named 2012 NFCA All-America Scholar Athletes.

As a junior, standout pitcher Katie Warrington led the Wildcats with a perfect 4.0 GPA. The sports management major also earned the CACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award last season. Warrington is  the only Wilmington University student-athlete to earn Capital One Academic All-American honors, doing so in back-to-back years after earning Second Team honors in the spring.

Wildcat teammates Jess Hassman and Brooke Berger nearly concluded the 2011-12 school year with perfect GPAs. Hassman finished her senior year at 3.963 and Berger her junior year with a 3.935 GPA. Sophomore Meghan Logullo added to the team’s GPA standing with a 3.756 while Christin Headley achieved a 3.636 GPA as a junior. Shelby Thompson attained a 3.593 GPA as a transfer student in her junior year last season and Kristin Garvin completed her final year as a WilmU student athlete with a 3.585 average.

Wilmington University was recently ranked the fourth fastest growing university in the nation, according to The Almanac of The Chronicle of Higher Education, with a 90.7 percent increase from its fall enrollment of 2000 to its fall enrollment in 2010. These findings were the result of the publication’s analysis of U.S. Department of Education student demographics data and the changing face of higher education over the past decade. The report places Wilmington University ahead of more traditional public and private institutions and newer online universities.

For additional information, please contact Dan Lauletta, Wilmington University Office of Sports Information at 302-356-2020.

 

About Wilmington University

Wilmington University is a private, nonprofit university committed to offering flexible and career-oriented undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs while maintaining small class sizes, individualized attention and affordable tuition. For more information, contact Wilmington University at 302-356-INFO (4636) or toll free 877-967-5464, via email at infocenter@wilmu.edu or visit our website at www.wilmu.edu.

 

 

Published: Friday, November 2, 2012 - New Castle, DE