The Youngstown State bowling program recorded the top grade-point average in the country during the 2022-23 academic year, the National Tenpin Coaches Association announced on Tuesday.
The nine ladies on the team combined for a 3.806 GPA during the year, which was 0.064 ahead of Monmouth for the highest mark in the nation. There were only three programs above a 3.7, and only five were above the 3.6 threshold.
This is the sixth time overall and the fifth consecutive year that the Penguins have received the NTCA All-Academic Team Award, and Youngstown State is ranked in the top six for the fourth straight campaign. YSU had the third-best GPA in 2020-21 and the second-highest mark in 2021-22.
At the same time, Youngstown State has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three years, making a Final Four appearance in 2020-21 and finishing as runners-up at the Lansing Regional in 2022-23. Additionally, the Penguins have been ranked in the top 10 in the final NTCA poll in each of the last four seasons.
"I'm extremely proud of the ladies," said YSU head coach Doug Kuberski. "They hold themselves to high standards and do a great job maintaining discipline and balance throughout the season in managing the life of a student-athlete on and off the lanes."
In addition to the team award, seven Penguins were recognized as NTCA All-Academic scholar-athletes. The Youngstown State bowlers receiving individual mentioning for having a cumulative GPA of 3.4 or higher for the academic year were Hope Bunk, Ellie Drescher, Lyndsay Ennis, Megan Grams, Madyson Marx, Hannah Miller and Kirsten Moore.
