Both the women’s golf and women’s basketball teams from Gustavus Adolphus College were recently honored for their academic achievements.
The women’s basketball team was named to the Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) on Tuesday, July 20. Head coach Mickey Haller’s squad ranked 11th out of 424 NCAA Division III women’s basketball teams with a 3.494 team grade point average (GPA).
This award, given in NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA and Junior College/Community College, awards teams throughout the nation that carry the highest GPA’s for the entire season based on the nomination submitted by WBCA-member head coaches. This past season marks the third consecutive year the Gusties have earned a top 25 ranking from the WBCA along with the 8th time in the past ten years.
The Gustie women paired their success in the classroom with success on the court finishing the 2009-10 season with a 20-6 record overall and an 18-4 record in conference play earning the regular season MIAC title along with the College of St. Benedict. Achieving success in the classroom and on the court proved to be no simple task as Haller’s squad was one of six Division III Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll recipients to win at least 20 games.
The National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) announced the 2009-10 All-Scholar Team GPA Award rankings Monday, July 19, where the Gustavus Adolphus women’s golf team placed third with a team GPA of 3.714. This marks the second straight year the Gusties have ranked in the top 25 and the first time the Gusties have placed in the top five in team GPA.
The All-Scholar Team GPA Award, given annually, is presented to the collegiate women’s golf team with the highest average GPA. Teams across the nation associated with NCAA Division I, II, and III are eligible for this award. The University of Indianapolis was awarded the 2009-10 honor with an average GPA of 3.752.
The Gusties average GPA was coupled with an outstanding season on the course. With a 316.4 stroke average, the Gustavus women never finished lower than fourth, winning seven events including the MIAC Championship. The season also included a second place finish at the NCAA Championships, the fourth top three finish in the past five years.
72 golfers from 45 institutions were honored as individual All-American Scholars. With four individual recipients, Gustavus tied for the most individual All-American Scholars by one team for the 2009-10 season. Illinois Wesleyan University and Wartburg College were the other two division III institutions that had four All-American Scholars.
Sophomore Taylor Drenttel (Eagan, Minn.), a double major in psychology and management, attained a GPA of 3.921 and the No. 2 position on the women’s golf team. In her second year, Drenttel had a 79.3 stroke average, bringing her seven top-ten finishes in ten tournaments. Five of these top-ten finishes were in the top five and two were first place finishes.
Sophomore Amanda Woodhull (Minnetonka, Minn.), a nursing major, maintained a 3.774 GPA and played the No. 5 position for Gustavus. Woodhull played in six events including an eighth place finish at the Georgianni Invitational. The Minnetonka native also posted an 83.3 season stroke average.
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