Washington Adventist University Women’s Basketball Team Achieved Overall GPA of 3.60 During Spring Semester

Takoma Park, Maryland (May 10, 2016) The Washington Adventist University (WAU) women’s basketball team achieved an overall GPA of 3.60 during the spring semester. To comply with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), all incoming players are required to maintain a GPA of 3.0 or above.

The incoming student athletes are required to attend study hall during their first semester for 1.25 hours each weekday. Progress reports are sent to the professors every two months, and students receive one-on-one meetings about their grades with their coach. Jered Lyons — who serves as Sports Information Director, Compliance Coordinator, and Head Women’s Basketball Coach — works alongside Juanita Womack, Registrar, to verify which players are eligible and on target to graduate, and to submit documents to NAIA.

“We try to do a good job of recruitment and get athletes that are just as driven in the classroom as they are on the court. This year, all our players took their academics seriously and they are motivated to excel in the classroom, and it makes my job easier to keep encouraging them,” said Coach Lyons. “Take for example basketball player, Monica Chica, a first year biology pre-med major who was awarded Biology Student of the Year.”

Student athletes have to juggle numerous tasks and responsibilities including classes, assignments, friends, work, practice time, and games. WAU athletes are proving that they place great value on their academics and have acquired the skills needed to manage their busy schedules.

“It takes a lot of time management and making sacrifices,” said Emily Piazza, a senior biology major. “It takes sacrificing the little free time that you have to do what needs to be done.”

“Student athlete is a term used loosely in the world of college athletics, but our Lady Shock have proven they are students first and also terrific athletes. I am so proud of Coach Lyons and his whole team on their commitment to character-driven athletics,” said Athletic Director Patrick Crarey.

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Washington Adventist University is Montgomery County’s only four-year private college. Part of the Seventh-day Adventist system of higher education, Washington Adventist University has been educating college students since 1904 on a 19-acre campus in suburban Takoma Park, close to the nation’s capital. Approximately 1,100 students of all faiths participate in the university’s nine graduate and 30 undergraduate programs. The 2016 edition of U.S. News & World Report ranked Washington Adventist University among the best regional colleges in the north.

Media Contacts:

Angie Crews, 301-891-4134, acrews@wau.edu

Donna Bigler, 240-286-1169, dbigler@wau.edu