Making the Grade -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 LACROSSE AND WBB EXCEL IN CLASSROOM RESULTS 

With the fall semester completed at the University of Louisville, we are starting to see some academic results from the women's athletic squads. So far, academic excellence is the headline, for both Lacrosse and WBB. 

Let's begin with Scott Teeter's squad -- Lacrosse.  They posted an eye-popping 3.650 grade-point average. They were shooting for a 3.5 when they discussed academic goals before the fall semester began, according to Coach. 

"I am extremely proud of our team for their efforts in the classroom. Prior to the semester, we set a goal for our team to achieve a 3.5 grade-point average and we are thrilled to accomplish that feat." 

Accomplished? I'd say they buried it in the back of the net for a huge score. 35 players on his squad earned the prestigious Red and Black Scholar Athlete status, for a 3.25 or better cumulative GPA and 21 players were named to the Dean's List for Fall 2020, which means they earned above a 3.5 GPA. Eight "laxers" swept the board with perfect 4.0 GPA's 

Looks like we'll really have to double down on any post-game interviews for difficulty and complexity for this group this spring. The old "What were you seeing out there today?" standard opener in post-game student-athlete interviews just won't hold up...it would be like asking a dog to bark...

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WBB wasn't sitting around playing Monopoly this fall.  They achieved a collective 3.094 GPA for the fall. This marks the 13th straight semester that WBB has topped the 3.0 mark. 

Seven of Walz's student-athletes earned 3.0 or better GPA's and eight of them were named to the Red and Black Scholar Athlete status for a 3.25 or better cumulative GPA. 

Freshman Hailey Van Lith earned Dean's Scholar status with a 4.0 semester. My guess she was studying a few more things than the Cardinal WBB playbook. Liz Dixon, Merissah Russell and Kianna Smith also got a nod from the dean, with Dean's List accolades (above a 3.5 GPA). 

Ahlana Smith, Kianna and Dana Evans all qualify as members of the Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society, which recognizes junior and senior athletes with a cumulative GPA above 3.4. I'd bet those three could also beat any other three in "the society" by 15+ plus points in a friendly game of "21" as well. 

We applaud the high academics and look forward to more glittering grade-point performance reports from the other programs. It's been said many times by many people that we should never forget that these are STUDENT-athletes. To put up academic numbers like this in a 2020 that has been so topsy-turvy, un-normal and subject to change is remarkable. 

The oft-used Cardinal Athletics slogan "We, The Future" is so true and evident from what we've seen so far in academic pursuits and excellence for Cardinal Women's Athletics. Let's never forget that the student-athletes of today are the future leaders and decision-makes of tomorrow. 

It looks like we're in good hands down the road. We look forward to more academic "numbers" out of the Cardinal women's athletic squad as we start to wind down 2020.

paulie