Dec. 30, 1999
Chicago, Ill. - Showing that they?re not just great athletes, but also excellent students, 99 University of Illinois at Chicago student-athletes achieved a 4.0 grade point average or better (on a 5.0 scale) during the university?s fall semester.
Sixteen student-athletes achieved a perfect 5.0 GPA during the fall, with the women?s volleyball team fielding six of those superior students. The women?s gymnastics team and the men?s tennis squad each had a pair of students with perfect marks while the baseball, men?s basketball, men?s gymnastics, men?s swimming, men?s soccer and women?s tennis teams all had one student-athlete with a 5.0 GPA.
Of the 99 student-athletes with a 4.0 or better GPA, 15 are members of the soccer team, which made its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament in early November. Head Coach Sasha Begovic?s Flames captured both the Midwestern Collegiate Conference regular-season and tournament titles during the fall with eight players earning all-conference recognition. Rookie Joe Morelli (Holly, Mich./Brother Rice), who earned MCC All-Newcomer Team accolades, topped the soccer team with a 5.0 GPA.
