MSUB women’s golf, baseball lead GNAC Academic All-Sports awards

MSU Billings Department of Intercollegiate Athletics 1500 University Drive Billings, MT 59101

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Monday, July 10, 2017 MSUB women’s golf, baseball lead GNAC Academic All-Sports awards

MSUB’s baseball and women’s golf teams are the top finishers in their respective sports among the GNAC Academic AllSports awards, while the Yellowjacket women’s basketball squad finishes in second place.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Each claiming the top spot in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Academic All-Sports awards announced on Monday, the Montana State University Billings baseball and women’s golf teams were among the top squads in the conference academically for the 2016-17 school year.

Each team in the GNAC is ranked within its respective sport based on cumulative grade point average to determine the individual sport winners. “To have two individual GNAC All-Sport team champions is something we can hang our hat on as a department that is focused on the education of our students,” commented MSUB director of athletics Krista Montague. “These students deserve a tremendous amount of credit, and have put on display a premier work ethic as athletes and with their studies.”

The ‘Jacket women’s golf team’s 3.74 GPA was the highest team GPA in the entire conference among all 14 individual sports. It also tied the 2010-11 Seattle Pacific University women’s cross country team for the highest team GPA during a

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MSU Billings Department of Intercollegiate Athletics 1500 University Drive Billings, MT 59101

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given year in the history of the GNAC. The women’s golf team has won the award two years in-a-row and four times overall in the last five seasons.

MSUB’s baseball team carried a GPA of 3.38 to run away with the baseball crown. It was the fourth-highest team GPA of any men’s sport in the entire conference, and this is the fourth consecutive season the Yellowjacket baseball team has claimed the academic team crown.

Women’s basketball also finished highly within its sport, holding a 3.51 team GPA to finish in second place behind Western Oregon by just one percentage point.

MSUB’s men’s sports teams combined to finish in fifth place among the 11-school conference, totaling 59 points.

Overall, Concordia University won the combined men’s and women’s Academic All-Sports award with 180 points. The Cavaliers took first place on the men’s side with 84 points and second on the women’s side with 96 points.

Among MSUB’s 240 student-athletes, 52 earned academic all-conference recognition during the 2016-17 academic year, and the overall department GPA was an outstanding 3.21. “This is one of the highest departmental GPAs we have ever had, and we are excited to see this level of academic achievement,” Montague said. “Our student-athletes are among the top students at MSUB, and their dual accomplishment on the court and in the classroom is something we are proud of.”

MSUB’s baseball team won the GNAC Academic All-Sports award for the fourth consecutive season.

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