GAFFNEY, S.C. – Despite challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic in intercollegiate athletics and higher education in general, Limestone University student-athletes not only rose to the task but exceeded expectations as a total of 86 athletes posted a perfect 4.0 GPA during the Fall 2020 semester.
 
Additionally, Limestone had 11 teams finish the fall term with a combined GPA of 3.0 or higher while 439 of the 837 student-athletes enrolled in the fall wrapped up the semester with at least a 3.0 – that figure accounts for just over 52-percent of the student-athlete body. Roughly 28-percent, or 235 student-athletes, recorded at least a 3.5 GPA in the fall while 136 of those students tallied a 3.8 GPA or higher.
 
Teams with a combined GPA of 3.0 or higher in the fall were:

• Women's Tennis – 3.60
• Softball – 3.53
• Men's Tennis – 3.47
• Acrobatics & Tumbling – 3.43
• Women's Volleyball – 3.36
• Field Hockey – 3.30
• Women's Lacrosse – 3.29
• Men's Soccer – 3.27
• Women's Soccer – 3.27
• Women's Cross Country – 3.19
• Women's Golf – 3.02

 
Three Limestone teams just missed posting a team GPA of 3.0 or higher as baseball (2.98), men's golf (2.97), and men's volleyball (2.93) were all just shy of the mark. A total of nine teams finished the fall with a GPA of 2.5 or higher to help the Limestone Athletics Department achieve a combined GPA of 3.05.
 
The Limestone Athletics Department will be celebrating those teams for their outstanding work and dedication in the classroom with a series of social media posts over the next couple of weeks.
 
The acrobatics and tumbling team led the department with 10 athletes achieving a 4.0 during the Fall 2020 semester while women's soccer was a close second with nine student-athletes. The softball and football teams both placed eight students on the 4.0 GPA list and women's lacrosse finished with six.
 
Among the student-athletes that registered a perfect GPA in the Fall 2020 semester were:
 
Acrobatics and Tumbling (10)
Freshman Susannah Balderstone (Cherry Hill, N.J.)
Freshman Lindsey Bryant (Keller, Texas)
Freshman Hailey Fox (Ellington, Conn.)
Junior Taylor Gomes (Sneads Ferry, N.C.)
Sophomore Kirstie Mensen (Lubbock, Texas)
Junior Marita Musser (Mohnton, Pa.)
Freshman Rylee Rossman (Frederick, Md.)
Freshman Alyssa Thayer (Euharlee, Ga.)
Freshman Autumn Torian (Virginia Beach, Va.)
Sophomore Savannah Venters (Winder, Ga.)
 
Baseball (3)
Junior Cory Busse (Wonder Lake, Ill.)
Freshman Tanner Harris (Edgemore, S.C.)
Freshman Devin Vaughan (Summerville, S.C.)
 
Men's Basketball (2)
Sophomore Ben Gahlert (Nuremberg, Germany)
Freshman Gabriel Hopper (Gaffney, S.C.) – Team Manager
 
Women's Basketball (1)
Freshman Reagan Kargo (Summerfield, N.C.)
 
Women's Cross Country (2)
Senior Caroline St-Antoine (Longueuil, Quebec)
Freshman Autumn Clifton (Columbia, S.C.)
 
Cheer (3)
Senior Britney Haynes (Dallas, N.C.)
Junior Hailey Pringle (Montgomery, Ala.)
Senior Caitlin Reid (Wedgefield, S.C.)
 
Dance (2)
Freshman Mackenzie Harris (Union, S.C.)
Senior Joy Singleton (York, S.C.)
 
Field Hockey (4)
Sophomore Riley DeGrace (South Wales, N.Y.)
Freshman Mary Caroline (MC) Hoverkamp (North Augusta, S.C.)
Junior Abigail Smith (Germantown, Md.)
Freshman Casey Sweitzer (Centreville, Md.)
 
Football (8)
Sophomore Nathan Baker (Easley, S.C.)
Freshman Jamal Blakley (Anderson, S.C.)
Junior AJ Covan (Spartanburg, S.C.)
Sophomore LJ Gray (Lexington, S.C.)
Freshman Tyler Land (Simpsonville, S.C.)
Senior James Scott (Lincolnton, N.C.)
Sophomore Michael Watkins (Indian Land, S.C.)
Sophomore Will Watkins (Indian Land, S.C.) – Student Assistant Coach
 
Men's Golf (3)
Graduate Zach Bishop (Travelers Rest, S.C.)
Senior Max Kalfjall (Vasby, Sweden)
Junior Cody Transou (Gaffney, S.C.)
 
Women's Golf (3)
Senior Ebba Hellman (Ronninge, Sweden)
Senior Pilar Martinez (Malaga, Spain)
Senior Lena Schilowsky (Gloggnitz, Austria)
 
Men's Lacrosse (4)
Graduate Jarrett Dargusch (Sewell, N.J.)
Freshman Weston Green (Virginia Beach, Va.)
Senior Lance Olson (Brighton, Colo.)
Freshman Brandon Rabbitt (Havre de Grace, Md.)
 
Women's Lacrosse (6)
Freshman Kaeli Brown (Louisville, Ky.)
Graduate Lauren Chong (Toronto, Ontario)
Freshman Keira Crilly (Whitby, Ontario)
Senior Maren Lawrence (Greer, S.C.)
Freshman Parker Lewis (Fayetteville, Ga.)
Freshman Bailey Stumpf (Fisherville, Ky.)
 
Men's Soccer (5)
Junior Clement Anet (Cosse le Vivien, France)
Graduate Florian Fromholzer (Happurg, Germany)
Senior Patrick Sigman (Lugoff, S.C.)
Freshman Luca Weiser (Ronneburg, Germany)
Freshman Pascal Werba (Schorndorf, Germany)
 
Women's Soccer (9)
Sophomore Chantae Blackwood (North Lauderdale, Fla.)
Freshman Ashley Busteed (Charlotte, N.C.)
Freshman Katharina Haerle (Wuppertal, Germany)
Sophomore Sarah Johnson (Smyrna, S.C.) - Team Manager
Sophomore Kaitlyn Kilpert (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.)
Freshman Hannah Luke (Darlington, England)
Junior Maggie McSwain (York, S.C.)
Senior Hannah Phillips (Campobello, S.C.)
Sophomore Andrea Zwinkels (Sundbyberg, Sweden)
 
Softball (8)
Sophomore Vic Brewington (Walterboro, S.C.)
Junior Audra Butler (Cheraw, S.C.)
Freshman Mikky Davis (Inwood, W.Va.)
Sophomore Madison Chappell (Lawrenceville, Ga.)
Freshman Kerrigan Thornton (Gaffney, S.C.)
Freshman Kameron Lee (Dunn, N.C.)
Freshman Natalie Ruth (Waxhaw, N.C.)
Freshman Madison Vinicombe (Waxhaw, N.C.)
 
Men's Tennis (2)
Sophomore Lucas Rodriguez (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Freshman Christian Rogerson (Aiken, S.C.)
 
Women's Tennis (4)
Junior Alexandra Dolfi (Sospel, France)
Freshman Sophia Marchetta (Hilton Head, S.C.)
Junior Felicitas Picinini (Cordoba, Argentina)
Junior Alison Walsh (Irmo, S.C.)
 
Women's Track and Field (1)
Junior Keyasha Brown (Beaufort, S.C.)
 
Men's Volleyball (2)
Senior Francisco Salinger Cenzual (Cipolletti, Argentina)
Senior Milos Vukovic (Ljubinje, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
 
Women's Volleyball (3)
Junior Sydney Bibby (Cumming, Ga.)
Junior Catherine Hickey (Des Plaines, Ill.)
Junior Madysen Williams (Antioch, Tenn.)
 
Women's Wrestling (1)
Freshman Mika Walters (Lakewood, N.Y.)