Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Photo by: JC Ridley/Owlpix.com
Women's Golf Notches Sixth Highest GPA Nationally
7/23/2020 9:42:00 PM | Women's Golf, Academics
BOCA RATON, Fla. - Florida Atlantic University women's golf earned the sixth highest GPA among all its Division I counterparts, the Women's Golf Coaching Association announced Monday. Coach Aimee Neff's team registered a 3.878 GPA in 2019-20, besting all other Conference USA women's golf programs.
The WGCA had also previously named FAU's Amanda Leslie, Arielle Keating, Justine Fournand, Rosa Barnak, Taylor Morgan and Kim Egozi 2019-20 All-Academic Scholars last month. The former three, along with graduating senior Kayla Longo, earned 4.0 GPAs.
FAU women's golf has quickly grown into a top-notch academic program under Neff. Neff oversaw a combined 10 WGCA All-Academic Scholars since taking over in 2018. And as of spring 2020, her squad owned the highest GPA at FAU for a seventh consecutive semester.
On the course, FAU has risen 75 spots in the national rankings since 2018 and had a 2019-20 Conference USA Freshman of the Year in Fournand. Its scoring averages from 2019-20 and 2018-19 season rank first and second in program history, respectively.
To illustrate the Owls' academic and athletic surge best, three golfers explain it themselves.
What about your team allows it to grow academically and athletically at the fast rate it is?
Amanda Leslie: "I think our team is extremely committed on and off of the golf course. We are all hard workers and take pride in succeeding, not only on the golf course, but in the classroom as well. Coach Aimee does a great job of instilling that we are students and athletes and that we need to be on top of everything in the classroom."
Justine Fournand: "We are all very hard working and disciplined. We also helped each other to lead us to this success. Our coach is very concerned to be great in every areas of our life. Our academic advisor, Dasha [Cherkasov], plays an incredible role in our success. She makes everything easy and supports us."
Arielle Keating: "Our team has such a great network of people helping us grow academically and athletically. From Dasha Cherkasov helping us ease the stress of scheduling and figuring out classes, to Coach Aimee making sure we stay accountable throughout the semester, it's no wonder we do well! Our team is great at offering help to each other in reading over essays or advice on best ways to study or where to go for more help."
How do you balance golf and academics so well?
Leslie: "I balance golf and academics by working efficiently. I know a few of the girls on the team are similar to me in that if we know we have tournaments or a busy week coming up, we do as much of our work as possible beforehand so we do not have to worry about it and we can focus solely on our golf."
Fournand: "Classes online are very helpful to balance both, and of course the help of Dasha, our academic advisor."
Keating: "Scheduling ahead of time. Over my two years so far at college it's been difficult to find the balance between the two, and I've found that I need to do more school work in the morning before golf so that I don't stay up late when I get home in the evenings. A lot of it is trial and error figuring out what works well for me and helps me be the most productive."
What does it feel like to earn these academic accomplishments, and how do they compare to success on the course?
Leslie: "It is awesome to earn these academic accomplishments and be recognized for all of our hard work. Our academic advisor, Dasha, does a great job of helping us when needed, she meets with whoever needs it on a weekly/monthly basis and makes sure that we are all on top of our work. Academic accomplishments compare to success on the golf course because they both show you that all of your hard work is paying off. It feels great to be recognized for our work in the classroom and to have success on the golf course. That's a winning combination!"
Fournand: "Success in school allows me to have success in golf. Paradoxically, both are working together from my point of view."
Keating: "It feels a little surreal that our team was sixth in the nation for highest GPA! I'm so proud of our ladies and I think it was a great encouragement to hear after our season had to be cut so short."
The WGCA had also previously named FAU's Amanda Leslie, Arielle Keating, Justine Fournand, Rosa Barnak, Taylor Morgan and Kim Egozi 2019-20 All-Academic Scholars last month. The former three, along with graduating senior Kayla Longo, earned 4.0 GPAs.
FAU women's golf has quickly grown into a top-notch academic program under Neff. Neff oversaw a combined 10 WGCA All-Academic Scholars since taking over in 2018. And as of spring 2020, her squad owned the highest GPA at FAU for a seventh consecutive semester.
On the course, FAU has risen 75 spots in the national rankings since 2018 and had a 2019-20 Conference USA Freshman of the Year in Fournand. Its scoring averages from 2019-20 and 2018-19 season rank first and second in program history, respectively.
To illustrate the Owls' academic and athletic surge best, three golfers explain it themselves.
What about your team allows it to grow academically and athletically at the fast rate it is?
Amanda Leslie: "I think our team is extremely committed on and off of the golf course. We are all hard workers and take pride in succeeding, not only on the golf course, but in the classroom as well. Coach Aimee does a great job of instilling that we are students and athletes and that we need to be on top of everything in the classroom."
Justine Fournand: "We are all very hard working and disciplined. We also helped each other to lead us to this success. Our coach is very concerned to be great in every areas of our life. Our academic advisor, Dasha [Cherkasov], plays an incredible role in our success. She makes everything easy and supports us."
Arielle Keating: "Our team has such a great network of people helping us grow academically and athletically. From Dasha Cherkasov helping us ease the stress of scheduling and figuring out classes, to Coach Aimee making sure we stay accountable throughout the semester, it's no wonder we do well! Our team is great at offering help to each other in reading over essays or advice on best ways to study or where to go for more help."
How do you balance golf and academics so well?
Leslie: "I balance golf and academics by working efficiently. I know a few of the girls on the team are similar to me in that if we know we have tournaments or a busy week coming up, we do as much of our work as possible beforehand so we do not have to worry about it and we can focus solely on our golf."
Fournand: "Classes online are very helpful to balance both, and of course the help of Dasha, our academic advisor."
Keating: "Scheduling ahead of time. Over my two years so far at college it's been difficult to find the balance between the two, and I've found that I need to do more school work in the morning before golf so that I don't stay up late when I get home in the evenings. A lot of it is trial and error figuring out what works well for me and helps me be the most productive."
What does it feel like to earn these academic accomplishments, and how do they compare to success on the course?
Leslie: "It is awesome to earn these academic accomplishments and be recognized for all of our hard work. Our academic advisor, Dasha, does a great job of helping us when needed, she meets with whoever needs it on a weekly/monthly basis and makes sure that we are all on top of our work. Academic accomplishments compare to success on the golf course because they both show you that all of your hard work is paying off. It feels great to be recognized for our work in the classroom and to have success on the golf course. That's a winning combination!"
Fournand: "Success in school allows me to have success in golf. Paradoxically, both are working together from my point of view."
Keating: "It feels a little surreal that our team was sixth in the nation for highest GPA! I'm so proud of our ladies and I think it was a great encouragement to hear after our season had to be cut so short."
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
Tuesday, May 12
Tuesday, May 05
Thursday, April 23
Wednesday, April 08