NORMAN, Okla. – The Illinois State men's golf team received All-Academic Team honors by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) Wednesday for their academic performance with a team grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher. The Redbirds had a team GPA of 3.38 in the fall and 3.12 in the spring.
To be eligible for GCAA All-Academic Team honors, a college or university must submit the GPAs for each player on its official squad list for the academic year. A total of 141 teams submitted GPAs of 3.00 or higher to earn All-Academic Team recognition.
"I love this award because it shows we compete in the classroom as well as on the golf course," head coach Ray Kralis said. "To reach your potential, I believe you hold yourself accountable in all areas, and that starts with the books for student-athletes. The more disciplined we are academically, the more successful we will likely be in competition, because that same discipline in preparation carries over. The guys certainly demonstrated that this past season and represented themselves and our program very well as student-athletes."
Missouri State was the only other Missouri Valley Conference school on the list, while ISU appeared on the list with state rivals DePaul, Illinois, Northwestern and SIUE.
Just last week, former men's golfer Parker Freiburg was named a Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar, as announced by the Golf Coaches Association of America. Freiburg, an accounting major with a 3.63 cumulative grade-point average (GPA), was named a 2014 Missouri Valley Conference First Team Scholar-Athlete.
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