FERRIS POSTS NATION’S SECOND-BEST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL GPA

Bulldogs Garner Runner-Up Accolades in WBCA Division II Team Honor Roll List

The Bulldogs, who placed among the top 25 teams for the fourth consecutive season under head coach Tracey Fisk, compiled a 3.604 grade point average in 2002-03 and shared runner-up kudos with Dowling (N.Y.). Nebraska-Kearney posted a 3.723 team gpa en route to receiving first-place accolades.

Ferris State was one of two Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC)-member institutions ranking in the top 25 along with Ashland, which placed 15th (3.449). The Bulldogs, who previously compiled the nation’s highest gpa (3.534) in 1999-00, also finished 21st (3.313) in 2001-02 and were 20th (3.388) for the 2000-01 academic year. Ferris’ 3.604 gpa in 2002-03 represented the fifth-best figure among teams from both the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisions I, II and III levels along with those representing National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) institutions.

The WBCA Top 25 Team Honor Roll list annually recognizes the nation’s highest NCAA Divisions I, II, III, junior/community colleges and NAIA academic team programs based upon nominations submitted by WBCA-member head coaches. The gpa’s were calculated by dividing the total number of quality points earned by each student-athlete on an institution's squad list in the given academic term by the total number of hours earned by the team. They were then rounded to the nearest thousandth of a point.

Based out of Georgia, the WBCA has over 4,500 members and was conceived as a vehicle through which members could be recognized and honored for their efforts and achievements. The WBCA awards program remains a well-known benefit of WBCA membership.

Founded in 1981, the WBCA promotes women’s basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game in all of its aspects as an amateur sport for both women and girls.

Seven Bulldog players were honored individually as 2002-03 GLIAC Women’s Basketball All-Academic Team selections. They included junior forward Stephanie Benear (Howell), junior guard Lucy DeMartin (Mason), sophomore forward Sarah Duesing (Sault Ste. Marie/Sault Area), junior center Bridget Horwitz (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb), senior forward Patti Larson (Kalkaska), sophomore forward Molly Potvin (Lansing/Catholic Central) and sophomore guard Kari Searles (Marshall). DeMartin also attained both first-team 2002-03 Verizon Academic All-District IV College Division and Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM) Athletic-Academic Honor Team kudos.

Ferris State, which finished the 2002-03 campaign with a 15-11 overall record and a 10-8 conference mark, reached the GLIAC Tournament for the fourth consecutive year and posted its seventh straight 10-win campaign a year ago.

FSU is slated to open its 30th anniversary campaign Saturday, Nov. 15, at Lewis (Ill.) in Romeoville, Ill. Tipoff for the non-league encounter is set for 4:30 p.m. (EST). The Bulldogs return eight letterwinners and five starters from last season entering Fisk’s sixth season at the helm.