Women’s basketball team pictured above.
GOJASPERS / COURTESY
By Angelina Persaud, Managing Editor/Asst. News Editor
Manhattan College’s women’s basketball team is dominating in two places at once this semester: on the court and in the classroom.
During the men’s basketball game against Quinnipiac on Feb. 2, it was announced that the women’s basketball team collectively earned a 3.7 cumulative GPA for the fall semester.
This marks the second time the Lady Jaspers have received recognition for their academic excellence off the court.
The first recognition came from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) in 2023, which honors the top women’s basketball teams for their academic prowess.
According to the 2023 article on manhattan.edu, “The Jaspers’ combined GPA of 3.576 ranks at number 21 and is among the highest of all Division I teams in the New York metropolitan area.”
Anne Bair, a junior psychology major graduating a year early, plays a guard position on the court but manages her athletic life “like a full-time job.”
“Organization is super important,” Bair said. “Being a division one athlete is a full-time job in itself, being really on top of your schoolwork as well as basketball and any other extracurriculars you might have…and also just continuing to build good relationships with your professors.”
Guard and forward Ines Gimenez Monserrat, a junior environmental studies major, explained that keeping an open line of communication with professors is crucial to success.
“Talking and building a relationship with your professor is very important too,” Gimenez Monserrat said. “As a transfer I had to go to study hall, so they set up hours for you that you have to study.”
When it comes to being in a competitive environment constantly, the team agreed that it helped to shape their mindset when tackling academic subjects.
“It’s just about [being] competitive with myself and always wanting to do the best that I can do in the classroom as well,” Bair said. “Just holding myself to a high standard, and that’s what our coaching staff expects from us as well.”
Petra Juric, a junior computer science major, is a forward for the team and also echoed a similar sentiment about having a supportive, built-in network with her teammates.
“I think it helps to work within a team environment all the time,” Juric said. “You can talk with your teammates about how to deal with certain problems. I think that also helps in the classroom.”
Although making it to the MAAC Championship is on their minds, the team also has their own plans to succeed in the classroom and achieve their personal goals.
Forward Jade Blagrove, a senior psychology major spoke about her academic goals coming to life in the midst of the season.
“My academic goals were to make the honor society for both psychology and for Epsilon Sigma Pi, and I made both,” Blagrove said. “I was very happy with that.”
The Lady Jaspers remain in high hopes for the rest of their season while keeping their eyes on the MAAC tournament.
“I think we’ve grown a lot as a team,” Juric said. “We had a lot of new people, I think eight new people at the beginning of the year. It took us time to learn how to play together. But now I think we’re doing pretty good.”
Gimenez Monserrat also noted the close-scoring games the team has had, which gives them motivation for every game.
“Every game we play in confidence, like if it’s a final … every game is super close,” Gimenez Monserrat said. “There’s never a 20-point win or something like that … it’s just gonna help us prepare for the championship.”
As Blagrove says, there is an emphasis on being a student as much as being an athlete, a priority that the team has learned to balance.
“[Coach Heather Vulin] always says ‘you’re a student before you’re an athlete’, so she really hammers on being successful in the classroom,” Blagrove said. “I think she was very proud of our academic performance.”