BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Five members of the Utica University women’s water polo team are among 134 Pioneers’ student-athletes to earn recognition on the 2023 Empire 8 Spring Semester President’s List.
Recipients of this honor must earn a 3.75 grade-point average or higher during the semester, while participating in a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sponsored sport. In addition, the student-athlete must display positive conduct on and off campus and be enrolled full-time at the member institution. The conference states, “Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the Empire 8 Conference.”
Sara Kuiken (Sr., Valley Falls, N.Y./Tamarac), Paige Levine (Fr., Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East), Kim Serio (Jr., Lakeville, N.Y./Livonia), Kira Seaman (Gr., Fort Edward, N.Y./Hudson Falls) and Kelly Waryncia (Gr., Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) all earned recognition for Utica.
In addition, the women’s water polo team tied with women’s swimming & diving for the fourth highest grade point average among Utica athletics programs during the Spring semester. Women’s ice hockey (3.57), women’s tennis (3.49) and men’s tennis (3.48) were the lone programs to top water polo and swimming’s 3.47 GPA. Women’s volleyball (3.45), men’s golf (3.43), field hockey (3.43), men’s swimming & diving (3.39), women’s soccer (3.38), men’s ice hockey (3.31), women’s golf (3.29), women’s cross country (3.29) and women’s basketball (3.27) complete the 14 Utica programs that earned Empire8 Conference All-Academic Team honors for registering a team GPA of 3.2 or higher for the Spring semester.
Among the 14 Utica programs, five – including three of the top five highest team GPAs for the Spring semester – were eliminated following the 2022-23 academic year as the men’s swimming & diving, women’s swimming & diving, women’s water polo and men’s tennis teams were terminated on June 14.
