WINONA LAKE – Thirteen of Grace College’s 14 varsity athletic programs were named Scholar-Teams by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) for the 2014-15 academic year.

Overall, Grace had three programs ranked in the top 25 nationally across all NAIA teams and also had the highest single team mark among Crossroads League institutions. Nine of Grace’s squads finished in the top 25 of their respective sports.

The women’s cross country team, under head coach Jeff Raymond, led all Lancer squads with an impressive team GPA of 3.75. Their team average ranked third in their sport and 13th overall across the nation. Additionally, they boasted the highest GPA of any Crossroads League team.

Women’s soccer, coached by Michael Voss, posted a 3.71 GPA to finish second in their sport and 20th overall. Women’s tennis, led by Scott Moore, had a 3.70 GPA to rank fourth in their sport and 23rd overall. Both teams were also academic champions in the Crossroads League. The women’s soccer team has ranked in the nation’s top two of their sport academically for four straight seasons.

“The continued academic excellence that our athletic programs achieve is a testament to the commitment and dedication of our coaches and student-athletes,” said Grace athletic director Chad Briscoe. “These prestigious awards are a great reflection of the pursuit of academic and athletic Christian excellence that our programs strive for at Grace. The academic recognition of all of our programs is a great reflection on Grace College and Grace Athletics.”

Grace’s softball team under Heather Johnson ranked No. 7 in their sport and No. 2 in the league with a 3.55 GPA. The volleyball program also finished with a 3.55 GPA to finish No. 19 in their sport.

Women’s basketball, led by Scott Blum, finished No. 18 across all women’s basketball teams with a 3.53 GPA, and women’s track and field had a 3.52 GPA to rank No. 21 in that sport.

Jim Kessler’s men’s basketball team had a 3.16 GPA to rank No. 22 in their sport, and Bill Barr’s baseball team was No. 23 in the sport with a 3.11 GPA.

Other Scholar-Teams for Grace include: men’s tennis (3.29 GPA), men’s soccer (3.09 GPA), men’s cross country (3.08 GPA) and men’s track and field (3.05 GPA).

Overall, 1,502 teams were given the distinction of Scholar-Teams for the 2014-15 academic year.