San Diego, Calif. – Nationally ranked throughout the season and undefeated in conference play when competitions were halted, the San Diego State water polo team didn't let the disappointment of the situation get in the way of being successful in their coursework and posted the highest team grade point average (GPA) since semester GPAs were first tracked in 1999.
"I'm proud of our academic accomplishments last semester in which we achieved our highest team GPA in program history," head coach Carin Crawford said. "Our athletes showed resilience and focus responding to the difficult circumstances they faced. And despite all the challenges, our team was able to focus on what they could control and showed great persistence and determination to excel academically. Just as we work together to achieve common goals in the pool, this stellar team GPA reflects our collective focus and commitment to academic achievements as SDSU student-athletes."
Despite the season being halted on March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic, campus being closed, and students' classes being conducted on-line, the team posted a 3.31 GPA in the spring semester. That number tops the previous best of a 3.19 GPA, which was achieved in the spring semester of 2019. This is the third straight semester and the fifth time in the last six semesters that the water polo team has achieved a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Just over a week ago, on June 15, nine Aztecs earned Golden Coast Conference (GCC) All-Academic honors, having played in at least 50 percent of the team's games, and maintaining a minimum of a 3.0 GPA. The Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches will announce its All-Academic designees in the next several weeks.
Water polo is one of 15 Aztec teams that set a record semester GPA in the spring and the combined GPAs of all 19 San Diego State Division I sponsored sports are 3.36, a record as well.
"The record-breaking (3.36) cumulative GPA is a testament to the hard work and resilience of our student-athletes who were faced with an unprecedented shift to a virtual classroom mid-stream," Bobby Smitheran, SDSU's Senior Associate Athletic Director of Student-Athlete Academic Support Services, said. "Our student-athletes were faced with numerous challenges and their academic performance speaks volumes to their character and work ethic. I'm especially proud of the coaching staff and the Student-Athlete Academic Support Services team who rallied around our student-athletes and adjusted our academic resources to a virtual platform to maintain the quality of academic support our student-athletes are accustomed to."
When the season was halted, the Aztecs had played 18 of their 29 scheduled regular-season games and were ranked No. 16 in the nation. San Diego State had a 9-9 overall record, including a 3-0 mark in GCC play which included an 11-9 victory at three-time reigning conference champion Pacific, which would turn out to be the final game of the season.
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