Garnet Earn AVCA Academic Award
2007 AVCA ACADEMIC RELEASE (pdf)
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Swarthmore volleyball team was one of 307 schools to earn the Game Plan/AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2006-2007 season, given by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).
The award, initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school teams that displayed excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale and a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale during the school year.
Swarthmore is one of 53 Division III women's programs to earn this honor; it is the second year in a row and third time in four years that head coach Harleigh Leach's team has earned this distinction (the first coming in 2003-2004). Swarthmore was the lone school representing the Centennial Conference on the list.
The 307 schools receiving the honor eclipses the previous record of 305 schools awarded during the 2003-2004 season. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I set a single-season record for number of collegiate schools at any division receiving the award with 56 in 06-07 and NCAA Division III (53) surpassed its previous high mark of 48 set in '03-'04.
Recipients of the award range from NCAA Division I institutions to high school girls' and boys' teams. The college ranks produced 167 programs that met the requirements for the award in 2006-2007.
"The AVCA is again privileged to present the GamePlan/AVCA Team Academic Award to these outstanding institutions," AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer said. "We congratulate the student-athletes for their hard work in the classroom and thank our coaches for instilling this dedication in the young women and men of our sport."
The Garnet finished the 2006 season with an overall record of 12-13 (3-7 in the Centennial).