July 12, 2010
NOTRE DAME, Ind. -
Two of Notre Dame's 22 sports that compete in the BIG EAST Conference were honored with the 2009-10 BIG EAST Academic Team Excellence Awards recognizing the highest collective grade-point averages in each conference sport. The Fighting Irish baseball and men's lacrosse teams were each recipients of the third annual awards.
Eleven BIG EAST schools had at least one team represented on the list with Providence pacing all schools with a conference-best five teams honored. DePaul and Syracuse each finished with four selections, while the Irish were joined by Cincinnati, Louisville and St. John's with two. West Virginia, Rutgers, Georgetown and USF each saw one team named to the list.
The Irish men's lacrosse team not only led the conference in the classroom but also represented the BIG EAST in the NCAA National Championship in '09-10 for the first time in program history. The squad earned victories over No. 6 Princeton, No. 3 Maryland and No. 7 Cornell en route to the championship game, before dropping an overtime decision to fifth-ranked Duke, 6-5.
It marks the first time that either of the Irish teams has been presented with the award since its inception in '07-08. The Irish baseball team concluded the year with a 3.117 grade-point average (GPA), while the men's lacrosse team finished with a 3.065.
In total, 20 of Notre Dame's 22 teams that compete in the BIG EAST conference earned better than a 3.00 GPA during the recently completed academic year, with the women's tennis team pacing all Irish teams for the second straight year with a 3.494 mark.
2009-10 BIG EAST Team Excellence Award Winners:
Sport School
Baseball Notre Dame
Men's Basketball West Virginia
Women's Basketball DePaul
Men's Cross Country Cincinnati
Women's Cross Country Louisville
Field Hockey Louisville
Football Syracuse
Men's Golf DePaul
Women's Golf St. John's
Men's Lacrosse Notre Dame
Women's Lacrosse Cincinnati
Women's Rowing Rutgers
Men's Soccer DePaul
Women's Soccer St. John's
Softball DePaul and Providence
Men's Swimming & Diving Georgetown
Women's Swimming & Diving Syracuse
Men's Tennis USF
Women's Tennis Syracuse
Men's Indoor Track & Field Providence
Women's Indoor Track & Field Providence
Men's Outdoor Track & Field Providence
Women's Outdoor Track & Field Providence
Women's Volleyball Syracuse
--ND--
