Feb. 27, 2008

PHILADELPHIA--The Saint Joseph's women's cross country team was honored by the United States Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association by being named to the 2007 USTFCCAA All-Academic Team. The Hawks ranked Ninth in the nation with a grade point average of 3.64, which was tops in the Mid-Atlantic Region and the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Stanford took home national honors with their third straight national championship while posting a GPA of 3.47. In all, 158 Division I women's programs received the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honor. There are 325 teams in Division I that sponsor women's cross country. Of the 158 teams on the list, 35 of them had team GPAs over 3.50. South Florida, from the Big East Conference, led all schools with a team GPA of 3.78.

The Hawks led the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region with its GPA, followed by West Virginia in a tie for 14th (3.60 GPA). Dayton followed SJU posting a GPA of 3.54 to be the A-10's second best squad, ranking in a tie for 28th nationally.

All twelve members of the Saint Joseph's women's cross country team posted a GPA of 3.221 or higher. The highest cumulative GPA recorded was by senior captain Adriene Beltz at 3.942.

The Hawks picked up another academic award earlier in the season when junior standout Andrea Florida was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Academic team. Florida posted a cumulative GPA of 3.86.

For a team to be considered for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team award, they must have competed and compiled a team score at an NCAA Regional Meet. The team must also have a minimum 3.00 team cumulative grade point average.