VILLANOVA, Pa. - Another semester of elite academic performance is in the books for Villanova student-athletes, who continued to make the grade during the Fall 2016 semester. The overall grade-point average for the Wildcats student-athletes was 3.224 during the fall semester, marking the 27th straight marking period with a GPA higher than a 3.0. Villanova continues to put itself among the top schools in the nation for the academic achievement of its student-athletes.

There were a total of 428 student-athletes who had a GPA greater than a 3.0 for the fall semester, representing more than 71 percent of the total of 601 student-athletes from 24 varsity sports. Individual accolades were highlighted by 12 student-athletes who achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA for the semester. In all, 22 of the Wildcats teams had a GPA higher than a 3.0 for the semester. The women's soccer team led all sports with a 3.557 GPA, while the men's tennis team at 3.409 had the highest GPA of any men's sport.

"I could not be more proud of our student-athletes for their academic success, and of the Athletic Department staff that supports them," Director of Athletics Mark Jackson said. "I continue to be inspired by the dedication our student-athletes show to having a complete collegiate experience on and off the fields of competition, all while maintaining an emphasis on elite academic performance."

Nine different teams had at least one student-athlete with a 4.0 for the fall semester. The group is highlighted by juniors Briggs Mroz of the rowing team and Caitlin Daday from women's swimming & diving, who each tallied a 4.0 GPA for the third straight semester. They were joined by seniors Devin McNamara and Nick Tortoriello from men's lacrosse, who repeated their spring semester success by achieving a second consecutive 4.0 semester.

"Throughout all of my experiences at Villanova, academics have always been put at the forefront of the conversation," McNamara said. "Villanova stresses the creation of the complete student-athlete and provides numerous resources in order for student-athletes to succeed in the classroom."

The other student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA for the fall were Michael Waterfield from men's lacrosse, Aaron Sykes and Tyler Rippel from men's track & field, Andy Butler from golf, Kendall Ohman from softball, Allie Olsonoski from volleyball, Ellis Lazenby from women's soccer and Dominique Clark from water polo.

Many of Villanova's top performers on the fields of competition are also among its brightest stars in the classroom. Sophomore distance runner Bella Burda of the women's cross country and track & field teams was presented with the prestigious NCAA Elite 90 academic award at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, where she had the highest cumulative grade-point average out of more than 250 athletes in competition at the championships site. Burda added to her high rate of academic achievement by earning first team All-BIG EAST honors as well as Mid-Atlantic All-Region honors for the second straight year.

Senior distance runner Patrick Tiernan from the men's cross country team closed out his collegiate career by winning his first individual national championship. He is only the second men's runner from the Wildcats to win a national title in cross country, and he also became the program's first four-time cross country All-American in addition to defending his BIG EAST and Mid-Atlantic Region individual crowns. Tiernan was named the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Performer of the Year in men's cross country for the second straight year, and plans to pursue his graduate studies at Villanova. He was joined on the Academic All-Area Team by redshirt freshman Andrew Marston, who also earned All-BIG EAST and Mid-Atlantic All-Region accolades.

Also among the Wildcats top achieving student-athletes were three all-stars from the football team. Senior Tanoh Kpassagnon and juniors Ryan Bell and Rob Rolle each earned Academic All-Area recognition in addition to being named to the CAA Football All-Conference Team. Kpassagnon was the league's Defensive Player of the Year and was joined on the first team by Rolle, while Bell was a third team selection. Junior outside hitter Allie Loitz from the volleyball team was both a first team All-BIG EAST selection and an honoree on the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Volleyball Team.