NAIA releases Scholar Team awards

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics held its annual National Awards Day on Friday, naming its NAIA Scholar Teams in the process. Led by women's tennis' 3.67 team GPA, 15 of Loyola's eligible 19 athletic programs qualified for the NAIA Scholar-Athlete award. 

Programs have to earn a team GPA of at least 3.0 to qualify, and women's swimming, women's golf, competitive dance, women's basketball, men's tennis, men's golf, beach volleyball, indoor volleyball, women's outdoor track, women's indoor track, women's cross country, men's basketball, baseball and men's swimming all join women's tennis. 

Collectively, the Loyola Athletic Department's GPA was 3.29 for the 2022-23 academic year. 

The Wolf Pack also had 73 student-athletes earn NAIA Scholar-Athlete awards, marking the second straight year the department has had at least 70 honored after last year's 79 record-breaking number. In order to be a recipient of the NAIA Scholar-Athlete award, the athlete must be a junior or above in academic standing with a minimum GPA of 3.50 on a 4.0 scale. The NAIA Scholar-Athlete Teams and the Champions of Character Five-Star awards will be released at a later date. 

Recently, the Wolf Pack Athletics received Champions of Character Five-Star Institute Gold status, meaning the department earned at least 90 points on the Champions of Character scorecard for the 2022-23 academic year. The scorecard measures a demonstrated commitment to Champions of Character and earns points in character training, conduct in competition, academic focus, character recognition and character promotion. Institutions earned points based on exceptional student-athlete grade point averages and by having minimal to no ejections during competition throughout the course of the academic year. Loyola has been a Champions of Character Five-Star Institute for 15 straight years, earning Gold status for the third time in department history as well.

2022-23 NAIA Daktronics Scholar Teams

1. Women's Tennis: 3.668

2. Women's Swimming: 3.620

3. Women's Golf: 3.571

4. Competitive Dance: 3.562

5. Women's Basketball: 3.535

6. Men's Tennis: 3.519

7. Men's Golf: 3.445

8. Beach Volleyball: 3.429

9. Volleyball: 3.419

10. Women's Outdoor Track: 3.321

11. Women's Indoor Track: 3.307

12. Women's Cross Country: 3.190

13. Men's Basketball: 3.170

14. Baseball: 3.111

15. Men's Swimming: 3.056

2022-23 NAIA Daktronics Scholar Athletes

1. Alex Medina, Loyola, Senior, Men's Cross Country

2. Cristian Delgado, Loyola, Senior, Men's Cross Country

3. Peter Nelson-Broderick, Loyola, Grad Student, Men's Cross Country

4. Amber Byrd, Loyola, Senior, Women's Cross Country

5. Isabel Esteb, Loyola, Junior, Women's Cross Country

6. Brittany Cooper, Loyola, Senior, Volleyball

7. Rebecca LaCour, Loyola, Senior, Volleyball

8. Samuel Ater, Men's Basketball, Senior

9. Joshua Tolbert, Men's Basketball, Senior

10. Andrew Stagni, Men's Basketball, Senior

11. Jazmene McMillan, Women's Basketball, Senior

12. Kate Petrovic, Women's Basketball, Senior

13. Kennedy Hansberry, Women's Basketball, Grad Student

14. Morgan Hervey, Women's Basketball, Junior

15. Taylor Thomas, Women's Basketball, Senior

16. Brooke Lovato, Competitive Cheer, Senior

17. Rachel Berzas, Competitive Dance, Junior

18. Colleen Butler, Competitive Dance, Sophomore

19. Gabriella D'Angelo, Competitive Dance, Senior

20. Kele Johnson, Competitive Dance, Senior

21. Elysse June, Competitive Dance, Junior

22. Jordan Kleehammer, Competitive Dance, Junior

23. Megan O'Brien, Competitive Dance, Junior

24. Aaron Ervin, Men's Swim & Dive, Sophomore

25. Cameron Hinton, Men's Swim & Dive, Junior

26. Eve Thomas, Women's Swim & Dive, Senior

27. Megan Stempkovski, Women's Swim & Dive, Sophomore

28. Sophie Sierveld, Women's Swim & Dive, Sophomore

29. Hannah Richard, Women's Swim & Dive, Junior

30. Lauren Gill, Women's Swim & Dive, Senior

31. Madison Gearhart, Women's Swim & Dive, Grad Student

32. Emily Cooper, Women's Swim & Dive, Sophomore

33. Reese Berry, Women's Swim & Dive, Sophomore

34. Jamie Abernathy, Women's Swim & Dive, Senior

35. Mya Baker, Women's Swim & Dive, Junior

36. Ella Balhoff, Women's Swim & Dive, Senior

37. Brittany Cooper, Beach Volleyball, Senior

38. Francisco Arce Vieyra, Men's Tennis, Junior

39. Theo Debackere, Men's Tennis, Senior

40. Aubin Duchier, Men's Tennis, Grad Student

41. Mathilde Camus, Women's Tennis, Senior

42. Elly Carpenter, Women's Tennis, Sophomore

43. Lucy Carpenter, Women's Tennis, Junior

44. Selma Fereres, Women's Tennis, Junior

45. Isabella Leaño, Women's Tennis, Senior

46. Ariana Salgueiro-Estela, Women's Tennis, Senior

47. Fatima Vasquez, Women's Tennis, Senior

48. Cade Scarborough, Men's Golf, Junior

49. Chase May, Men's Golf, Senior

50. Chase Venn, Men's Golf, Senior

51. Gabriel Porges, Men's Golf, Senior

52. Justin Rabin, Men's Golf, Senior

53. Logan Peterson, Men's Golf, Senior

54. Aidan McLachlan, Women's Golf, Sophomore

55. Blair McKenzie, Women's Golf, Sophomore

56. Daniella Salazar, Women's Golf, Senior

57. Lainey Cristan, Women's Golf, Senior

58. Shelby Walls, Women's Golf, Senior

59. Joshua Orr, Baseball, Sophomore

60. Kason Cullins, Baseball, Junior

61. Ross Selvaggi, Baseball, Senior

62. Tucker Ganley, Baseball, Junior

63. Cristian Delgado, Men's Track and Field, Senior

64. Braddock Lord, Men's Track and Field, Senior

65. Alex Medina, Men's Track and Field, Senior

66. Bryana Bazile, Women's Track and Field, Junior

67. Micaela Bradley, Women's Track and Field, Senior 

68. Amber Byrd, Women's Track and Field, Senior

69. Mykhala Coleman, Women's Track and Field, Sophomore

70. Cameron Diaz, Women's Track and Field, Junior

71. Isabel Esteb, Women's Track and Field, Junior

72. Mallory Foret, Women's Track and Field, Senior

73. Abigail Reviel, Women's Track and Field, Senior 

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