JU women’s lacrosse honored for having nation’s second-highest GPA

From JU Athletics

After leading the nation in scoring, ground balls and caused turnovers, the Jacksonville University women’s lacrosse program has received a national honor for success in the classroom.  Of all the schools in Division 1 lacrosse, JU finished the year with the second-highest grade-point-average in the nation, earning the team Academic Merit Squad recognition by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA).

“You never like the chant ‘We’re No. 2!’ but in this case I think it is a very exciting and awesome award,” said head coach Mindy McCord, the 2013 Atlantic Sun “Coach of the Year.” “We had a lot of seniors this year and they certainly led the way in the classroom … One of the secrets to our success is how much our young people thrive and achieve while they are at JU. The GPA figure is an outward expression of the happiness and success that our student-athletes feel.”

The 33-member roster for the Dolphins combined for a 3.46 GPA during the 2012-13 academic year. JU is the only school in Division 1 Academic Merit Squad honoree that won their conference title and went to the NCAA tournament.

“When we recruit young people to come to JU, we talk to them about the academic freedom they have here,” McCord said. “The ability to study challenging majors such as nursing, pre-med, exercise science, engineering, or any of our 70 majors on campus. Honestly, at the Division I level this does not always work out for the student-athletes, but here at JU, it’s how we operate on a daily basis. We want to prove that you can study anything your dreams desire while you compete and are challenged to play on a championship lacrosse program, too. We believe that you should not have to compromise one over the other. This season we proved that and we will continue to strive for it every year.”

Coming off the first NCAA berth in the four-year history of the program, JU will welcome 11 new freshman this fall who have garnered their own share of academic accolades in high school.

“There is no professional women’s lacrosse league yet. So the focus should be on exploring both your academic options and playing at a world-class level while you are in college. Our students should never compromise and love every challenge in front of them,” McCord said.

The Dolphins were joined by Detroit Mercy and American as the three schools of Merit by the IWLCA.