Hawks Excel In Classroom

NEW PALTZ — Men’s soccer standout Stephen Ferrara and women’s cross-country runner Dawson Gerhardt both earned perfect 4.0 grade-point averages to headline a strong fall 2000 semester academically for SUNY New Paltz student-athletes.

As a result, the duo are also the recipients of the prestigious Dr. Donald Bishko Memorial Award, which is presented each semester to the top male and female athlete academically, in remembrance of the university’s former Dean of Academic Advising.

While it is the first such distinction for Ferrara, a senior elementary education major from Stony Point, NY, who has been recognized for his skills on the soccer field, it is what has become expected of Gerhardt, a sophomore biology major from Ambler, Pa., who in three semesters has yet to record anything less than perfect.

Overall, 102 of New Paltz’s 285 student-athletes earned at least a 3.0 GPA for the fall semester, the highest total in the last five years. In addition, 52 of those individuals also made the Dean’s List (minimum 3.3 GPA), 27 qualified for the SUNYAC All-Academic Team (3.3 GPA for fall sport athletes) and 12 achieved SUNYAC Commissioner’s List (3.3 GPA for three semesters) status.

“We’ve been very pleased that the fall saw an increase of athletes that made the All-SUNYAC team and qualified for the Commissioner’s List,” Interim Director of Athletics Stuart Robinson said. “It speaks well to the balance between academics and athletics.”

The fall semester winners of the New Paltz Cup – which recognizes the male and female athletic team (minimum 10 participants) with the highest combined grade-point average – were the men’s cross country and women’s track and field teams.

The men collectively achieved a grade-point average of 2.90, while the women scored an even more impressive 3.19. Four other Hawk teams – women’s cross country (3.48), field hockey (3.04), women’s swimming and diving (3.03) and women’s tennis (3.00) – also earned at least a 3.0 GPA.

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Note to editors: Photos of Stephen Ferrara and Dawson Gerhardt can be downloaded from the SUNY New Paltz web site at http://hawk.newpaltz.edu/news/images/bishkowinners.html.