Kansas City, Mo. ---- The Catawba College men's and women's soccer teams earned the top team GPAs in the South Atlantic Conference for the 2022-23 academic year, United Soccer Coaches (USC) announced Wednesday. Each team also earned USC Team Academic Awards for their respective performances in the classroom.

The Catawba women ranked first in the league with a 3.72 overall team GPA for the 2022-23 academic year, while the Catawba men led their conference peers with a 3.46 team GPA for the year. In total, 801 soccer teams were recognized by USC, who annually celebrates the academic achievements of teams whose student-athletes collectively demonstrate a commitment to excellence in their studies over the course of a full academic year.

Catawba's soccer teams combine their excellence in the classroom with their success on the field, leading the conference in combined preseason first-place votes and First Team Preseason All-Conference selections, along being one of three teams in the SAC with both soccer teams ranked in the top four in their respective preseason polls.

Both teams kick off their season on the road on Thursday, Aug. 31, as the 20th-ranked women travel to Chowan for a 4:30 p.m. start, while the men play at Clayton State at 7 p.m. The women and men make their home season debuts on Sept. 2 and 9, respectively.