Webster University men's 2014-15 golf team was named the NCAA III Academic National Champions by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).  In addition, the Gorloks were one of only eight NCAA III teams to receive President's Recognition by the (GCAA) for its 2015 Team Academic Award.  This is the second straight year Webster earned the President's Recognition, and the fourth straight year the Gorloks have earned the Team Academic Award.

The 2014-15 golf team becomes the first Webster program to be named a national academic champion by its respective national association.  Webster women's basketball had attained the previous high ranking, finishing seventh in the WBCA in 2002-03 and 2003-04.  Webster was in good company as Harvard University was named the NCAA I academic champions, and Tiffin University (OH) was named the NCAA II champ.

Webster was one of only 24 colleges nationwide in all divisions to receive the President's Recognition, compiling an impressive 3.65 team GPA for the year.  A team must have a minimum 3.5 GPA for the President's Recognition.  This is the second year in a row Webster golf had such a lofty GPA, maintaining a 3.67 for the 2013-14 academic year.

Only 34 NCAA III schools received the Team Academic Award.  Webster was the only school recognized from the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC). 

Last week, team members Brodie Dakin (SR, Macomb, IL/Macomb HS) and Tyler Thorman (JR, Macomb, IL/Macomb HS) were named as GCAA All-American Scholars, based on their GPAs and scoring averages for the year.  Other team members included Jay Hargis (SO, Highland, IL), Ian Heizer (SO, Red Bud, IL), Brendan Holzhauer (FR, Nashville, IL), Jon Hughes (SO, Gardner, KS), and Justin Onken (SO, Easton, IL),

Webster head coach Andrew Belsky said of the award, "For a team to perform at that level in the classroom, while working hard and achieving success at their sport as well, shows a true commitment to the NCAA III ideals.  We start each year with a goal of maintaining a high standard of performance on the course and in the classroom.  This year's team has set the mark for future squads to live up to with its Academic National Champion designation by the GCAA."

To qualify for the GCAA Team Academic Award, a team must have maintained a cumulative 3.0 grade point average for the year.  Only 169 teams, from all six major athletic divisions in the U.S, qualified in 2014-15.  Those include all four-year divisions (NCAA I, II, III, and the NAIA) and two-year (NJCAA DI, DII) golf programs.