Buffalo, NY - The Canisius Athletic Department had another strong showing in the classroom, with 17 varsity programs boasting a grade point average of 3.0 or better for the 2016-17 spring semester, the College announced Thursday. Fourteen teams recorded a team GPA of 3.25 or higher, and the school's 330 student-athletes combined to post a department grade point average of 3.28 in the spring session.
The spring semester also saw a record 27 student-athletes earn a perfect 4.0 grade point average for the spring semester. Those 27 student-athletes represent 12 different teams. Additionally, 227 student-athletes hold a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better, which breaks down to 69 percent of the College's student-athlete population.
The women's cross country/track team led all Golden Griffin programs in the spring semester with a 3.58 team GPA. The men's cross country/track program placed second overall in the spring semester with a 3.47 team grade point average, followed by men's swimming and diving (3.46), hockey (3.44) and women's swimming and diving (3.43). Rowing (3.39), women's soccer (3.39), volleyball (3.33), men's soccer (3.32) and women's lacrosse (3.31) were all better than 3.30 for the spring semester, with men's lacrosse and (3.29) and golf (3.28) finishing higher than 3.20 in the classroom. Overall, men's and women's cross country/track recorded a 3.45 team GPA for the academic year, followed by women's soccer (3.40), hockey (3.38) and men's swimming and diving (3.35).
A total of 179 Canisius student-athletes were named to the MAAC Honor Roll for 2016-17, which is 60 percent of the student-athletes eligible for the honor. And just this month, the MAAC named women’s lacrosse player Erica Evans '18 its 2016-17 Female Athlete of the Year. Evans is now the third Canisius female student-athlete to win the award since its inception in 2001 and the first women’s lacrosse player in conference history to earn the league’s highest individual honor. The award recognizes overall excellence in the classroom, on the playing field and in the community.
Nineteen hockey players received Atlantic Hockey Conference (AHC) All-Academic Team accolades, with defenseman Geoff Fortman '17 earning his third-straight AHC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.
