DSC athletes end year as champions in their sports and in classroom

Daytona State College’s student athletes continued their winning tradition during the 2013-2014 academic year, both in their sports and in the classroom.

Daytona State's Women's Golf team won their seventh NJCAA
National Championship

Competitively speaking, the season was highlighted by yet another national championship, when Daytona State’s Lady Falcons garnered their seventh National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Championship inWomen's Golf under Coach Laura Brown. Golfer Tiffany Chan, claimed individual honors as the NJCAA Female Athlete of the Year.

The men’s basketball team, under first-year Coach Ryan Ridder, was Mid-Florida Conference Champions, with Ridder also taking Mid-Florida Coach of the Year honors.

Academically speaking, Coach Tim Touma’s men’s baseball squad is arguably the greatest team in the history of the Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA). For the eighth consecutive year, the team earned FCSAA Men’s Academic Team of the Year honors, posting a cumulative grade point average of 3.66. Not to be outdone, the women’s golf team was named FCSAA Women’s Academic Team of the Year, with a cumulative GPA of 3.77.

In addition, the men’s baseball and women’s golf, softball,basketball and volleyball teams have each been nominated for NJCAA National Academic Team of the Year honors in their respective sports. Those winners will be announced this summer. The men’s baseball team has won the national award seven out of the last eight years.

Daytona State Athletic Director Will Dunne said the academic success of the college’s student athletes is the result of a long-standing institutional priority that involves collaboration between the athletic department, faculty and student support staff. “We have created a culture within all our athletic programs where the highest measure of success is to see student-athletes succeed academically,” he said. “Our goal is to prepare our student athletes for success in life, not just in their sports, and this makes Daytona State highly enticing to parents and students interesting in being part of a college sports team that supports high academic achievement and progress.”

In the Mid-Florida Conference, 55 of 83 Falcon student athletes earned FCSAA All-Academic Team honors, with cumulative GPAs of 3.3 or better.

Five athletes received NJCAA Exemplary Academic Achievement awards with cumulative GPAs of 3.6 or better. Six earned NJCAA Superior Academic Achievement awards with cumulative GPAs of 3.8 or better. Golfer Jessica Madsen and softball player Megan Schwietert received NJCAA Pinnacle Awards for Academic Excellence with cumulative GPAs of 4.0 or better.

For more information on Daytona State athletics, visit www.daytonastate.edu/athletics.