Taft College student-athletes are not only winners on the field (or on the court in this case), but also in the classroom. The women's volleyball team is a perfect example as the 2017 squad was recently named a Scholar Team by the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA).
The Scholar Team Award is the highest academic team achievement given annually by the CCCAA. All team members must have excelled academically with a total grade point average of 3.0 or higher. The team should have demonstrated better than average accomplishments in intercollegiate athletic competition. Individual and team winners are selected by the CCCAA Awards Committee from nominations made by community colleges throughout California.
"I am very fortunate and proud to have had the opportunity to work with these young women, not only as the athletic director, but also as their coach," said Taft AD and women's volleyball head coach Kanoe Bandy. "As a result of my responsibility of overseeing the entire athletic department, my team finds themselves doing quite a bit of extra work and finds themselves shortchanged when I am covering my other responsibilities. They have to be strong individuals and leaders to be able to survive this type of scenario."
The 2017 Taft women's volleyball team compiled a 3.51 GPA to secure the honor. Just four other teams out of the 22 selected by the CCCAA had a higher GPA. Three members of the squad – Luse Lumas, Emily Salazar, and Allison Mizener – achieved perfect 4.0 GPAs while three others earned a 3.50-3.99 GPA. Of the 72 classes enrolled in, team members received 49 "A" grades and failed none.
On the court, the Cougars went 11-5 in the highly competitive Central Valley Conference to finish in a three-way tie for second place. It was an amazing feat considering the Cougars were able to bounce back from a horrendous 1-8 start and closed the season with a 14-14 overall record.
Two of the four sophomores on the team transferred to four-year universities. Lumas recently wrapped up her junior season at the University of Maine Fort Kent while Salazar moved on to Cal State Bakersfield to continue her academic career.
The recipients of the 2017-18 Scholar-Athlete and Scholar Team Awards will be honored on March 27 at the annual CCCAA Convention in Concord. More information on the CCCAA Scholar-Athlete and Scholar Team awards are online at www.cccaasports.org.