Newberry College Athletes Conquer the Classroom Fall Semester

Newberry College athletics teams posted some impressive stats during the fall 2016 semester. Among their many accomplishments, the Wolves Football team earned the South Atlantic Conference Championship with head coach Todd Knight recognized as Coach of the Year. Volleyball set a school record for conference wins and Cross Country hosted and competed in the conference championship.

One of the biggest success stories for Newberry student-athletes, however, was their stand-out performance in the classroom last semester. As a whole, the Athletic department combined for an overall semester GPA of 3.104, with 17 out of 19 teams earning both a semester and cumulative GPA higher than a 3.0. In addition, 185 student-athletes earned Dean’s List honors for fall 2016 semester.

“The accomplishments of our student-athletes this fall is a reflection of our commitment to encouraging a balanced approach to college life,” said Newberry College Director of Athletics Ralph Patterson. “We’re proud of our athletes and grateful to the faculty and administrative support staff who help them excel in the classroom. Likewise, we are proud of our coaches for bringing in student-athletes who are high academic achievers.”

Individually, several athletes saw their athletic and academic accomplishments recognized at the conference, regional and national levels.

Sam Hall (football, first team) and Madison Darby-McClure (volleyball, third team) were recognized as Academic All-Americans by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), for their outstanding achievements both scholastically and in their respective sports. Their honors mark a total of 23 student-athletes in Newberry College history to earn this honor from CoSIDA.

Sam Hall also received the SAC Elite 18 Award, while Darby-McClure was named the SAC Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Hall and Darby-McClure, along with Holden Beemiller (football), were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team.

From the Wolves women’s soccer team, Alyssa Ortega was named to the National Soccer Coaches of America Scholar All-South Region Team and was also recognized as the Chick-fil-A Student-Athlete of the Month in October.