Tuesday, July 16, 2013
PORTLAND, Ore. – Saint Martin’s University has won its first Great Northwest Athletic Conference Academic All-Sports title since the 2002-03 season.
The Saints outscored defending champion Northwest Nazarene 164-150 for the overall title. Seattle Pacific finished third with 143 points.
“We are very proud of our student-athletes and their accomplishments in the classroom,” Saint Martin’s athletic director Bob Grisham said. “I especially want to thank our coaching staff for their efforts and truly understanding and committing to the phrase ‘student-athlete’.
“This is an excellent example of how academics and athletics are part of the overall university experience,” Grisham added.
Northwest Nazarene won its third GNAC men’s all-sports title edging Saint Martin’s 78-76. NNU also won men’s all-sport academic titles during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons. Montana State Billings won its second straight women’s academic all-sports title outpointing the Saints 92-88.
Northwest Nazarene won the most academic team titles earning the best team GPAs in four sports including women’s soccer (3.43), women’s track and field (3.38), men’s track and field (3.25) and baseball (3.00).
Saint Martin’s and Seattle Pacific each had the best GPAs in three sports. The Saints led the way in softball (3.37), men’s cross country (3.46) and men’s golf (3.12). The Falcons won academic team titles in volleyball (3.41), men’s soccer (3.30) and men’s basketball (3.33).
Other GNAC academic team champions included Montana State Billings in women’s basketball (3.50) and women’s golf (3.55), Alaska Fairbanks in women’s cross country (3.70) and affiliate member Azusa Pacific in football (2.88).
Saint Martin’s softball team and Seattle Pacific’s men’s basketball team were the only squads to win a conference championship and also finish with the highest team GPA.
Sixty-nine of the conference’s 112 teams (61.6 percent) posted cumulative GPAs of 3.00 or better, including nine women’s cross country and eight men’s cross country, women’s basketball and women’s track and field teams. In all 46 of the GNAC’s 59 women’s teams (78.0 percent) had cumulative GPAs of at least 3.00.
The Academic all-sports standings are based on the cumulative grade point averages of all the athletes on the official team rosters including redshirts. Points are awarded on two-point increments.
Overall (Top 5) – 1. Saint Martin’s 164, 2. Northwest Nazarene 150, 3. Seattle Pacific 143, 4. Montana State Billings 130, 5. Central Washington 113. Men (Top 5) – 1. Northwest Nazarene 78, 2. Saint Martin’s 76, 3. Seattle Pacific 68, 4. Central Washington 41, 5. Montana State Billings 38. Women (Top 5) – 1. Montana State Billings 92, 2. Saint Martin’s 88, 3. Seattle Pacific 75, 4. Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene 72.
Men (Top 3): Cross Country – 1. Saint Martin’s 3.46, 2. Alaska Fairbanks 3.45, 3. Seattle Pacific 3.25. Soccer – 1. Seattle Pacific 3.30, 2. Northwest Nazarene 3.19, 3. Saint Martin’s 3.09. Football – 1. Azusa Pacific 2.88, 2. Central Washington 2.71, 3. Dixie State 2.64. Basketball – 1. Seattle Pacific 3.33, 2, Saint Martin’s 3.31, 3. Northwest Nazarene 2.99. Baseball – 1. Northwest Nazarene 3.00, 2. Saint Martin’s 2.91; 3. Western Oregon 2.90. Track-and-Field – 1. Northwest Nazarene 3.25, 2. Seattle Pacific 3.16, 3. Alaska Anchorage 3.06. Golf – 1. Saint Martin’s 3.12; 2. Montana State Billings 3.04, 3. Northwest Nazarene 2.94.
Women (Top 3): Volleyball – 1. Seattle Pacific 3.41, 2. Central Washington 3.37, 3. Saint Martin’s 3.24. Cross Country – 1. Alaska Fairbanks 3.70, 2. MSU Billings 3.56; 3. Saint Martin’s 3.45. Soccer – 1. Northwest Nazarene 3.43, 2. Seattle Pacific 3.33, 3. Saint Martin’s 3.32. Basketball – 1. MSU Billings 3.50, 2. Seattle Pacific 3.36, 3. Central Washington 3.32. Softball – 1. Saint Martin’s 3.37, 2. Central Washington 3.23, 3. Western Oregon 3.16. Track and Field – 1. Northwest Nazarene 3.38; 2. MSU Billings 3.28, 3. Saint Martin’s 3.23. Golf – 1. MSU Billings 3.55, 2. Saint Martin’s 3.37, 3. Northwest Nazarene 3.24.