July 11, 2007

FAIRFIELD, CT - The Sacred Heart University baseball, men's basketball and women's tennis teams topped the Northeast Conference in grade point average (GPA) in their respective sports for the 2006-07 academic year, while the entire Pioneer athletic program finished a very close third behind Wagner and Quinnipiac in the overall GPA standings.

Women's tennis, led by head coach Mike Guastelle, finished the year with an impressive GPA average of 3.50. Baseball, skippered by Nick Giaquinto, had a 2.990 GPA. Men's basketball finished with a 2.82 GPA for head coach Dave Bike. Only Wagner College, with five teams, had more individual team GPA titles than the Pioneers.

Wagner captured the inaugural Northeast Conference Institutional GPA award for the 2006-07 academic year with a combined GPA of 3.147 in 19 sports. The Seahawks narrowly edged out Quinnipiac (3.142) and Sacred Heart (3.135).

The honor is presented to the NEC member with the highest overall institutional grade point average for student-athletes competing in NEC sponsored sports. A total of 21 sports are sponsored by the NEC: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, football, field hockey, men's and women's golf, women's lacrosse, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, men's and women's soccer, softball, women's swimming, men's and women's tennis and women's volleyball.

Wagner claimed a league-high six team GPA awards, winning in men's cross country (3.48), women's cross country (3.64), women's lacrosse (3.26), women's swimming (3.51), men's indoor track and field (3.27) and men's outdoor track and field (3.27).

Overall, the NEC's 4,300+ student-athletes averaged a 3.039 GPA for the 2006-07 year. A total of seven institutions - Fairleigh Dickinson, Monmouth, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, Saint Francis (PA) and Wagner - finished the year with at least a 3.00 GPA.

School                     NEC Sports   Overall GPA
Central Connecticut State     15           2.839
Fairleigh Dickinson           16           3.101
Long Island                   15           2.989
Monmouth                      19           3.059
Mount St. Mary's              17           2.938
Quinnipiac                    18           3.142
Robert Morris                 18           3.014
Sacred Heart                  21           3.135
St. Francis (NY)              14           2.925
Saint Francis (PA)            20           3.052
Wagner                        19           3.147