WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – West Liberty University's student-athletes campus continued their string of impressive classroom performances during the spring term of the 2021-22 academic year.
    The 400-plus Hilltoppers from WLU's 18 sports teams teamed up to post a combined 3.12 grade-point average for the spring. It's the eighth consecutive semester that West Liberty's student-athletes have achieved a combined GPA of 3.00 or higher.
    "West Liberty's student-athletes are as committed to competing in the classroom as they are on the playing field," athletic director Lynn Ullom said. "I'm thrilled to see those efforts rewarded in such an impressive fashion and offer my heartiest congratulations to our student-athletes and our coaching staffs for a job very well done."
    The department as a whole posted some pretty impressive numbers during the spring. Not only did nearly 300 of the Hilltoppers' student-athletes – 290 to be exact – turn in semester GPAs of 3.00 or higher, nearly 200 of them (196) posted GPAs of 3.50 or higher for the semester with 88 student-athletes charting perfect 4.00s.
    Broken down by gender, the nine men's teams combined for a 2.94 GPA with four of them at 3.14 or higher. The nine women's sports teams combined for an eye-popping 3.37 GPA with all nine teams checking in at 3.00 or better.
    Leading the way for the department was Coach Heather Gallagher's MEC champion women's tennis squad with a 3.72 team GPA. Eight of the nine female tennis players were at 3.00 or higher with six at 3.50 or better and five with perfect 4.00s.
    Women's golf, volleyball and women's soccer all posted team GPAs in excess of 3.50. Five of the seven women's golfers were at 3.50 or higher with two achieving perfect 4.00s. Fourteen of the 17 volleyball players achieved 3.50 or better with five perfect 4.00s while 13 women's soccer players were at 3.50 or higher and nine had perfect 4.00s.
    The women's track and field team had the most perfect 4.00 GPAs with 11 with women's soccer and softball close behind at nine each. Softball had the highest number of GPAs above 3.00 at 32 and the highest number of GPAs 3.50 or higher with 23.
    On the men's side, baseball had the most student-athletes at 3.00 or higher with 30. Track and field led the way in the 3.50 or higher category with 16, followed closely by wrestling (15) and baseball (14). Baseball also had the most perfect 4.00 GPAs on the men's side with seven, one more than track and field and two ahead of wrestling and soccer.
    Here's a complete list of the Hilltopper teams that reached or surpassed the 3.00 GPA mark during the fall semester: Women's Tennis (3.72), Women's Golf (3.56), Volleyball (3.55), Women's Soccer (3.53), Women's Cross Country (3.49), Softball (3.48), Men's Tennis (3.29), Acrobatics & Tumbling (3.24), Men's Cross Country (3.16), Wrestling (3.15), Men's Soccer (3.14), Women's Basketball (3.13), Women's Track and Field (3.08).