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This one drive made me understand why enthusiasts love the VW Polo

What happened on a 350 km solo road trip in a VW Polo GT TSI on a rainy day changed my opinion of the car. BHPian mandavamanojjr recently shared this with other enthusiasts: I always felt that German cars are expensive to maintain, though I listened to reviews that say they offer great driving pleasure, […]

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2 months ago

May 24, 2025

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What happened on a 350 km solo road trip in a VW Polo GT TSI on a rainy day changed my opinion of the car.

BHPian mandavamanojjr recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

I always felt that German cars are expensive to maintain, though I listened to reviews that say they offer great driving pleasure, I did not show much interest in them.

While I was auditing our client’s accounts, I happened to see that a total of Rs. 1 Lakh plus was paid towards the repair of the DSG gearbox for a Polo GT TSI.

It was a complete shock for me, as I had never seen that much repair amount for a car back then.

This was strongly registered in my mind.

In 2015, when we were looking to purchase a sedan, though I was originally fascinated by the Volkswagen Vento, I did not even attempt to test drive it, being under the illusion that the maintenance would be higher.

Further, in 2016, I travelled with one of my uncles in his Polo TDI, sitting in the front passenger seat. My first impression was that the car was too compact with no space at all, summarizing that it was not a proper family car.

But, I still remember that drive along with my uncle, where he was constantly cruising at 100-120 kmph, and the car was rock solidly stable with no sort of vibrations.

It had a low stance and seating position, which felt like it was completely glued to the road, and it gave me a feeling of sitting in a go-kart vehicle.

The car was picking up speed at a good pace, and it was very planted with no sort of vibrations, air & tyre sounds. It was like riding in a superior car.

Years passed

One of my friends had purchased a Polo GT TSI recently, a used car, and I wondered why he was buying it, thinking of the maintenance it requires.

I drove it a couple of times for a very short spin within the town, and my original impressions continued of being cramped with no space, no creature comforts etc.

After a few days, I got an opportunity to travel for about 350 km solo in his Polo. Though I initially felt it was not an opportunity but a necessity.

It was a rainy day, and I started my journey, which completely changed my opinion of the car.

The following are the three driving chapters that I have experienced that made me completely fall in love with the car.

First chapter

I was driving on the single-lane village roads beside farms before getting onto the highway. It was rainy and in some spots on the road, the water was clogged.

Usually, while driving, I prefer not to drive in the water as I have the impression that the car loses its control and stability.

That particular day, since I was solo and bored, an instant thought came into my mind to just splash the water aside by going through it as there were no people beside, and I was also driving slowly.

In my first attempt, I made the left side of the car (the left front and rear tyres) go into the water to splash and kept the right side of the car on the tarmac. Apart from visualizing the splashing of the water, I immediately realized how stable the car was despite being thrown into a considerable water pit. The car did not shake even a little bit, and it was very much in control.

I was fascinated by the way it drove and handled the water pit.

I was still in a dilemma, doubting the capability of the car, presuming that the first pit might be very small, and thus, like any other car, the Polo also performed well. To test my perception of the car, I once again made the car go into the water pit, which is slightly bigger this time.

This time, no words, no thoughts inside my mind, but just a natural smile came on my face.

I completely agreed with the capabilities of the car and never doubted it again.

Now, a younger version of me has been awoken, who wants to experience the same joy of splashing the water again and again, as the car can handle it with utmost confidence.

I repeated it for the next few water pits, and it was a thorough joy, which totally satisfied the inner soul in my heart, who has a true passion towards cars.

I wish that day I had more water pits to have more fun.

The fun, though initially expected from the splashing of the water, has come, but the real and true fun part is driving the Polo through the water.

The fun and joy came to an end as the road ended, and I had to take the highway.

Second chapter

After a few kilometres of highway driving, I was supposed to drive through a city in between, and was slowly moving with the city traffic.

I approached a small junction which is neither big enough to have a traffic signal nor small enough to be left without a policeman. It is just in between.

It is a four-lane road with a divider in between, and I was driving in the left lane on my side of the road. The vehicles that need to take a turn are driving on the right lane on my side.

All of a sudden, the vehicle in front of me stopped due to some forward traffic in our lane, and immediately, I looked to my right, checking for any vehicles beside me. Next, I checked the right side rear view mirror for any vehicle behind me in the right lane.

After having a proper clearance check, I immediately turned towards the right, changed my lane, and overtook the vehicle in front of me in the left lane.

Though this might appear to take a lot of time in action, in reality, it was so quick as it is a 2-5 second decision & execution process, and what was even quicker & faster is the way the car turned its direction towards the steering input.

I was just astonished as the directional change was so smooth and easy, and by the time I was overtaking the vehicle in the left lane, I started to realize and appreciate its agility.

Every car turns quickly, no wonder in it.

But it is the precision with which it turns that matters.

I have driven many cars and handled many traffic situations as described above, but I had never gotten this feeling, and I had never remembered these many days, the way Polo changed its lane that day, which is still unforgettable.

Third chapter

Finally, I reached the outskirts of the destination and was travelling on the Outer Ring Road (ORR). There were some expansion joints and rumble strips in between on the ORR to slow down the fast-moving vehicles.

It was almost 6 hours of driving to ORR. I was a bit tired, and my focus then was only reaching the destination quickly. As part of the usual driving, I slowed down a bit when the expansion joint came and drove across it.

A few kilometers later, another expansion joint came suddenly, which I initially missed to slow down the vehicle, and I approached it with the same speed I was cruising. I was expecting that there would be a considerable movement and unsettledness after gliding through it.

To my surprise, there was no movement at all, either upwards or sideways, and it was the same planted drive making me feel as if the car had not gone through any expansion joint.

Now, I waited for another expansion joint, and I consciously did not decrease the speed and went through it. The same planted feeling repeated with no sort of loss of confidence. From then I was waiting for the expansion joints where all other cars were pressing their brake pedals, for which stop lights were visible at the rear, whereas I cruised through the expansion joints at the same pace with so ease and enthusiasm.

I felt like the VIP on the road with escort vehicles following, as all others were slowing down at these expansion joints, which was not a slowing point for me. The Polo made me feel like the boss of the road.

The same is the case with the rumble strips, where the car felt utmost composed, and nothing was felt inside.

Conclusion: The love realised after the drive

All three chapters mentioned above, though, were experienced while driving; the real love started only after returning the car to my friend.

I went home, had dinner, and was in bed to sleep. Then, these feelings mentioned in the chapters above started to run through my heart, coupled with the experiences picturing in my mind. The real love started then, and the real potential of the Polo was understood then.

This nostalgia continues to date.

I felt that the real fun is not in driving the car at higher speeds, but it is in understanding the true potential of the car and experiencing its abilities. At present, whenever I see a Polo on the roads, I feel jealous of the driver for the reason that he has a good-handling car.

Even today, I feel it’s a high-maintenance car, as my friend also spent a considerable amount on repairs, but if he were the first owner who had taken care of the car very well, then the maintenance cost would be nominal.

Being a lover of the Polo, did I purchase it later? Or just lived through the dreams of purchasing it. A story that will be shared in the future.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

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Claire Spiller – Track & Field/XC

TFFRS Bio (Coastal Carolina) Personal Bests Long Jump 5.36m Triple Jump 12.62m 2025 Outdoors (At Coastal Carolina) Finished seventh in the triple jump at the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championship (12.04 meters) … Fifth-place finish in the triple jump in the Charlotte Invitational (12.16 meters) […]

Published

9 minutes ago

July 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

TFFRS Bio (Coastal Carolina)

Personal Bests

Long Jump	5.36m
Triple Jump	12.62m

2025 Outdoors (At Coastal Carolina)

Finished seventh in the triple jump at the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championship (12.04 meters) … Fifth-place finish in the triple jump in the Charlotte Invitational (12.16 meters) … Back-to-back second-place finishes in the triple jump at the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational (12.49 meters) and Myrtle Beach Collegiate Challenge (12.34 meters).

2025 Indoors (At Coastal Carolina)
Finished fourth in the triple jump at the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships (12.34 meters), the fourth-best mark in school history … Third-place finish in the triple jump at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational (12.29 meters) … Finished third in the triple jump at the Hokie Invitational (12.25 meters) … Second-place finish in the triple jump at the Clemson Opener (12.28 meters).

2024 Outdoors (At Coastal Carolina)

Finished seventh in the triple jump at the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championship (12.33 meters) … Mark of 12.62 meters in the triple jump at the East Coast Relays ranks fourth in program history … Collected second-place finishes in the triple jump at the Weems Baskin Invitational (11.91 meters), Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational (12.34 meters), and Myrtle Beach Collegiate Challenge (11.81 meters).

2024 Indoors (At Coastal Carolina)

Finished 10th in the triple jump at the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championship (12.11 meters) … Back-to-back wins in the triple jump at the Carolina Challenge (12.02 meters) and Gamecock Opener (12.01 meters).

2023 Outdoors (At Coastal Carolina)

Competed in seven meets in the outdoor season for the Chanticleers … Recorded a 21st-place finish in the triple jump with a mark of 11.44 (1.6) meters at the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships … Finished third in the triple jump event with a mark of 11.49 (1.7) meters at the Myrtle Beach Collegiate Challenge … Also turned in a third-place finish in the triple jump with a distance of 11.70 meters at the Weems Baskin Relays … Placed ninth in the long jump event with a leap of 5.36 (-3.4) meters at the Weems Baskin Relays … Finished seventh in the triple jump event at the USC Open with a mark of 11.90 (0.8) meters … Also placed 25th in the long jump at the USC Open with a distance of 5.17 (-0.3) meters … Turned in a personal-best mark of 11.91 (1.6) meters in the triple jump at the UF Tom Jones Memorial Invitational, placing 17th overall … Recorded marks of 11.76 (1.0) meters in the triple jump and 4.89 (0.2) meters in the long jump at the UNF East Coast Relays … Posted a mark of 4.91 (0.4) meters in the long jump at the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational … Earned a spot on the President’s List (4.0 GPA) for the 2023 spring semester.

2023 Indoors (At Coastal Carolina)

Competed in the triple jump and long jump events in five meets during the indoor season … Placed 15th in the triple jump event with a mark of 11.68 meters at the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships … Also finished 30th in the long jump event at the conference championship meet with a distance of 5.28 meters … Recorded a third-place finish in the triple jump event with a mark of 11.36 meters in her collegiate debut at the Gamecock Opener … Finished fourth in the triple jump event with a mark of 11.05 meters at the Carolina Challenge … Turned in a distance of 4.96 meters in the long jump to finish 18th overall at the Carolina Challenge … Picked up a pair of top-25 place finishes at the Bob Pollock Invitational, placing 16th in the triple jump (11.14 meters) and 25th in the long jump (5.35 meters) … Finished 11th overall in the triple jump event with a distance of 11.51 meters at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational … Registered a mark of 5.23 meters in the long jump event at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational … Named to the Dean’s List (3.5 GPA or higher) for the 2022 fall semester.

High School

A four-year letterwinner in track & field at College Station High School … Competed in the long jump, triple jump, 400-meters, and was part of the 4×400-meter relay team … Was a three-time team captain … Ranked as high as No. 24 nationally in the triple jump by MaxPreps in 2021 … Was the 2022 district champion in the triple jump as a senior … Was the 2021 area champion in the triple jump as a junior … Set the school record in the triple jump at 39′ 0.5 … A member of the National Honor Society … Earned All-Academic honors throughout her high school career … Has two younger siblings – twins, Malorie and Meriah.

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Semifinal day at men’s water polo

Day 14 Schedule Classification 7-8 Match 45. 16:00. Classification 3-4Match 47. 17:35. Classification 5-6Match 46. 20:00. Classification 1-2Match 48. 21:35. Overview In the classification 9-10 match, Romania came from 8-1 down at quarter time to force a penalty shootout at 16-16 but it could not survive with Japan finishing 20-19 in sudden death. In the […]

Published

20 minutes ago

July 22, 2025

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Day 14 Schedule

Classification 7-8
Match 45. 16:00.

Classification 3-4
Match 47. 17:35.

Classification 5-6
Match 46. 20:00.

Classification 1-2
Match 48. 21:35.

Overview

In the classification 9-10 match, Romania came from 8-1 down at quarter time to force a penalty shootout at 16-16 but it could not survive with Japan finishing 20-19 in sudden death.

In the classification match for 11th position, Canada turned the tables on Brazil, winning 16-11 after losing the round encounter on penalty shootout.

Match Reports

Classification 9-10

Match 40, JAPAN 20 ROMANIA 19 in sudden-death penalty shootout. FT: 16-16. Pens: 4-3 (8-1, 4-3, 2-8, 2-4)

What an incredible match this was! For Japan to go 8-1 in the first quarter and then to allow Romania to win the rest of the match 15-8 and force a penalty shootout was truly remarkable by the Romanians. And then for the shootout to go to sudden death after the first rotation yielded two saves each was equally fantastic. A delight to watch.

The first quarter was like a tsunami with eight goals to one. That’s averaging every attack and the 4-1 score came before the four-minute mark. Yusuke Inaba plugged the first two for Japan; Daichi Ogihara had a pair, as well and Kiyomu Date scored three of the last four. Romania took a timeout at 4:20 but the Japanese responded with four goals. Centre forward Alexandru Gheorghe gained the first Romanian goal. In the second quarter, Romania came back into the fray and denied many Japanese chances. Francesco Iudean scored his 13th and 14^th goals of the tournament for 8-3 with Inaba picking up his third before Gheorghe repeated his first-quarter effort for 9-4. Three more Japanese goals came within a minute inside the last 1:40 before halftime, Inaba netting his fourth from a snappy six-metre shot and Date going on counter for his fourth.

Who would have thought that Romania would bring its A game in the third quarter, shooting five unanswered goals with more to come? That it did with Andrei Neamtu grabbing two. Japan called a timeout, gained an exclusion and Kenta Araki converted from the left post for 13-9. Levente Vancsik buried his shot and minutes later Inaba cherished a four-goal margin on counter. Neamtu and Vlad-Luca Georgescu, both on extra, narrowed the margin to two with two last-minute goals with the 12^th with four seconds on the clock.

The last quarter was a heart-stopper with traded goals from Andrei Tepelus in the first minute to Adachi at 16-14. Sebastian Oltean drilled from the top and Georgescu scored his most important goal to equalise on extra from the top right at 0:34. Japan had two shots covered and the shootout had been booked.

Japan started and missed its first two and Romania missed its second shot. The next three went in and Romania had its fourth shot saved meaning the match was tied at 18-18. The next two shots were successful, ending the rotation and sending the match into sudden death. Watanabe did what he couldn’t at the start, by scoring Japan’s 20^th goal and Georgescu had his shot blocked by goalkeeper Ren Sasano for the Japanese victory.

Match Heroes
Japan’s Inaba with five goals to finish with 23 in Singapore. Date collected four (12) while Watanabe’s one pushed him to 17. Captain Marius-Florin Tic stopped 14 shots for 60 in Singapore.

Turning Point
Japan’s 8-1 and then Romania’s relentless surge back to 16-16.

Stats Don’t Lie
Japan converted seven from 11 on extra and Romania a fantastic six from eight. There were two penalty goals for Japan and one for Romania. The teams stole the ball seven times each and Japan shot 38 to 34.

Bottom Line
Japan was 13^th last year and Romania 10^th in its first return since 2013 when it was 13^th. This year it will settle for 10^th. Japan was ninth in 2022 as well, a year after finishing 10^th at the home Olympic Games. It was eighth at this year’s World Cup, so is up there with the best. This was its third win here.

What He Said

Yusuke INABA (JPN) — Captain and Five Goals

On the close match:
“I have no idea how it became like that. We (conceded) a lot of goals in the third quarter and it was really a tough game, see-saw game. I don’t know, for us, it was a terrible game. We were leading by seven, eight goals, then they came back to tie and first we missed two penalties… it was wow, just wow.”

On what changed in the third quarter:
“In the third quarter, they changed tactics. They put two centres every time and we got many exclusions than goals, so they were really smarter than us. In the last 11 seconds, we really wanted to score because we knew that if we went to penalties, we would have a lower possibility of winning. Their goalkeeper Marius-Florin (TIC) is really good, so in the last 11 seconds, everyone really wanted to score, but we couldn’t. But after these 11 seconds, I said to everyone ‘Just think about victory’, and then we won, so it’s OK.”

On Japan’s campaign:
“We were really good here compared to the Paris Olympics. In Paris, when we played against Hungary, against Spain, we lost by 15, 14 goals, which is a lot. But this time, by five or six, so now, for sure, we are getting better. Step by step but it’s OK; we will continue to grow.”

Classification 11-12

Match 39, BRAZIL 11 CANADA 16 (3-1, 2-4, 1-5, 5-6)

Canada won the battle of the Americas, coming from 4-1 behind to win by five and back in the numbers after missing 2024 and finishing 12^th in 2023. These two teams met in the rounds and Brazil won 19-18 in penalty shootout on day six. Canada did not make that mistake twice. Head coach Pat Oaten is no stranger to international limelight coaching, leading the Canadian junior women’s team to the world crown at Calgary 2003. He also did a long stint with the senior women’s team and with Brazil women.

Brazil had the better of the first quarter at 3-1 with captain Gustavo Guimaraes with the first two goals — off the left-post position on cross and from deep right. Roko Pozaric replied for Canada on counter and Marcos Pedroso took it to 3-1 from centre forward, but about five metres out. Pedro Real gave Brazil a 4-1 advantage nearly three minutes into the second period and Nikos Gerakoudis replied, both from the same position at the top. Brazilian head coach Thiago Nacimento collected a yellow card. Guimaraes hit the penalty goal for a three-goal margin. Canada jumped back into the match with Jason O’Donnell from the top right. Aleksa Gardijan did not survive a VAR review for a violent action but Brazil could not convert the extra chance. Ali Oussadou converted a penalty foul and Reuel D’Souza brought up his 20^th goal from the top on extra for 5-5.

Canada’s dominance continued in the third period with captain Bogdan Djerkovic dragging one down off the right-post position on extra; Pozaric from the top left; D’Souza on penalty and then from the top right for 9-5. Lucas Farias broke the more-than-10-minute drought from deep right at 1:24. After a Brazilian challenge was rejected. D’Souza brought up goal number 23 from the penalty line and 10-6 at the final break.

O’Donnell grabbed his second with a cross-cage shot in the first minute of the final stanza. Goals were traded with D’Souza scoring a pair, including the first helicopter (360-degree) shot of the tournament off a six-metre free throw. Captain Djerkovic scored another from centre for 14-8; Luca Andrade scored twice for Brazil as his team’s leading scorer and Guimaraes finished all scoring with his fifth. On the other side, D’Souza converted a penalty for his seventh of the match in his first World Championships for eight years.

Match Heroes
Canada’s D’Souza, with seven goals, to make him the tournament’s leading scorer by far with 26. Guimaraes scored five goals for 12, one behind Andrade, who scored twice today. Joao Fernandes finished with 10 saves and an incredible 64 in Singapore.

Turning Point
Canada turning from 4-1 down and onwards to victory.

Stats Don’t Lie
Canada converted five from 12 on extra and Brazil four from eight. On penalties, Canada put away four and Brazil two. Canada made nine steals to three and shot a huge 41 to 29.

Bottom Line
Canada is now 11^th and Brazil up from 14^th in 2023.

What He Said

Reuel D’SOUZA (CAN) — Player of the Match

On the match:
“I’m really proud of my team. This was a big goal of ours today, to come out and beat Brazil by any means. We knew it was going to be a dogfight and I’m just really proud of how we took it one possession at a time; we chipped away and ultimately we did what we wanted to do.”

On what changed after trailing in the first quarter:
“We reminded ourselves what makes us a group. It’s our love for each other, love for the team, love for the country. That was the message, that was the motto. Chip away one possession at a time, play for Canada and play with heart. When push came to shove, we were the ones to bring the energy. A 9am game is not easy for anybody, even the best athletes in the world. We woke up today on a mission and we ultimately went out and did what we wanted to do.”

On scoring seven goals:
“This whole tournament, I’ve been telling myself that I just need to go out there and do what I’m capable of. I know what I can do and I just had to go out there and do it. For me, it’s not about scoring goals. It’s about helping my team win, about putting my team in the best position to win games. And I feel like if I can stay out of exclusion problems, stay in the water, I can contribute in a lot of ways, not just scoring goals. I’m very proud of what I did this week and I’m really proud of my team for our ability to recover from that first game and come back today.”

On Canada’s Singapore 2025 campaign:
“There were a lot of ups and downs. There were some games that we wanted to perform better and today, we did what we wanted to do, so today was the up. I think there were a lot of downs, but this is what we need. We need these games, we want to play these difficult games, we want to get put in tough, uncomfortable experiences and positions. As far as preparation for Los Angeles 2028 goes, we’re going to have to beat Brazil and Argentina to go. That’s plain and simple, so the more times (we get) to play Brazil, the better. Getting to play them twice this week is great for us. We’re really happy to end on a good note before we see each other again in December for hopefully Division 2 of the World Cup.”

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Spalding Water Polo have been nominated for the Swim England Water Polo Club of the Year award

Spalding Water Polo Club has been nominated for a coveted national award. Their name has been put forward for the Swim England Water Polo Club of the Year accolade. The news has been hailed as a ‘massive and wonderful achievement’ for the club who meet at the Castle Sports Complex in Spalding and also train […]

Published

1 hour ago

July 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Spalding Water Polo Club has been nominated for a coveted national award.

Their name has been put forward for the Swim England Water Polo Club of the Year accolade.

The news has been hailed as a ‘massive and wonderful achievement’ for the club who meet at the Castle Sports Complex in Spalding and also train in the summer at the Bourne outdoor pool.

The Spalding team at the Hertfordshire League tournament.

The annual awards bring the entirety of the aquatics community together to celebrate the individuals, groups and organisations for their outstanding contributions throughout the past 12 months.

In 2025, the awards will highlight achievements from clubs, coaches, teachers, volunteers, inclusion, health and much more – showcasing those that create great experiences across aquatics.

The Club of the Year awards are discipline-specific, highlighting the unique contributions of clubs across aquatics.

It highlights where clubs go above and beyond to create exceptional experiences both in and out of the water, placing their members at the heart of everything they do.

The ceremony will be held at the Great Hall at the University of Birmingham on Saturday, November 29.

The Spalding club play in the Hertfordshire League and took part in its tournament at Letchworth Lido.

Six matches would be played by each team, with a game lasting eight minutes.

Things would not be easy for Spalding as they had several players pull out at the last minute which meant they travelled with only eight players, little more than half a full squad, and no recognised goalkeeper.

Having agreed a rota for goalkeeping, captain Nathan Henfrey took the first game in goal against Dunstable.

Spalding were switched on from the start, keeping a solid defence and scoring twice through Adam Found and Sam Murray for a 2-0 opening game win.

The second game against host team Hertford saw Frazer McGruer in goal for Spalding.

Spalding scored first through Dan Leigh but Hertford were able to equalise.

Spalding were then able to capitalise on a turnover foul which allowed Henfrey to score the winning goal of the game in a 2-1 success.

The third game saw Spalding play Enfield where this time Leigh went in goal.

The game was even with both teams scoring twice, the two Spalding goals coming from Murray.

However, in the final minute, Spalding gave away a penalty allowing Enfield to take a 3-2 win.

Going into the fourth game against Cambridge, McGruer volunteered to take the remaining games in goal.

This brought about Spalding’s most dominant performance after a 4-1 victory with goals coming from Adam Found, Henfrey, Adam Gibbons and Murray.

Moving into the last few games, a couple of players volunteered from Hertford to boost Spalding’s substitute options.

However, the Spalding players were noticeably tiring against what would prove to be the toughest opponents of the night.

Bedford were able to beat Spalding 5-0 before Watford defeated them 5-1, Leigh getting the goal in the final game.

The Spalding players, including Lola Westrick and Paige Cheek, deserve great praise for putting in a tremendous amount of effort and working well as a team.

Spalding finished the night with three wins and three losses, putting them fourth out of the seven teams. Watford were the overall winners.

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Volleyball Receives 2025 AVCA Team Academic Award

Story Links Rock Hill, S.C. — For the 12th time in program history, the Winthrop Volleyball team has garnered the distinction of American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award, sponsored by INTENT. Volleyball programs that maintain a year-long grade-point average of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale are […]

Published

2 hours ago

July 22, 2025

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Rock Hill, S.C. — For the 12th time in program history, the Winthrop Volleyball team has garnered the distinction of American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award, sponsored by INTENT.

Volleyball programs that maintain a year-long grade-point average of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale are honored with the Team Academic Award, a feat which 1,450 collegiate and high school programs were able to achieve.

“It is very exciting to see that the record-setting, on-court successes during the 2024-25 season have extended to the classroom,” says AVCA CEO Jaime Gordon. “The fact that more programs earned the Team Academic Award than ever before is evidence of how committed our coaches are when it comes to helping their players reach their goals as both students and athletes.”

The Eagles registered a 3.65 GPA over the course of the 2024-25 academic year, with a record-setting performance of a 3.78 GPA in the Spring 2025 semester for the highest mark in program history. In the spring, every Eagle held a 3.0 GPA or higher with five perfect 4.0 marks, and nine athletes over a 3.5 GPA.

LINK TO AVCA RELEASE

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Five A-10 Volleyball Teams Earn AVCA Team Academic Award

Story Links WASHINGTON – Five Atlantic 10 Conference volleyball programs recieved the 2025 AVCA Team Academic Award. The award, which is sponsored by INTENT, was announced on Monday. Davidson, Dayton, Duquesne, Fordham and Loyola Chicago were recipients of the honor. Eligible programs maintained at least a team GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 […]

Published

2 hours ago

July 22, 2025

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WASHINGTON – Five Atlantic 10 Conference volleyball programs recieved the 2025 AVCA Team Academic Award. The award, which is sponsored by INTENT, was announced on Monday.

Davidson, Dayton, Duquesne, Fordham and Loyola Chicago were recipients of the honor. Eligible programs maintained at least a team GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale over the course of the 2024-25 year.

Dayton, the 2024 regular season champions, won the award for the eighth conseuctive season and 14th overall. Duquesne won its seventh consecutive award and 15th overall. Fordham collected its eighth overall honor.

Davidson received the Team Academic Honor Roll distinction. The Team Academic Honor Roll is awarded to programs that are in the top 20 percent of GPAs in their division.

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Beach Volleyball Earns AVCA Team Academic & Honor Roll Awards

Story Links LEXINGTON, Ky. – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced today that Missouri State’s beach volleyball program has earned the prestigious 2025 AVCA Team Academic Award, sponsored by INTENT. This award recognizes teams that sustain a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher across the academic year. In addition to the […]

Published

2 hours ago

July 22, 2025

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LEXINGTON, Ky. – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced today that Missouri State’s beach volleyball program has earned the prestigious 2025 AVCA Team Academic Award, sponsored by INTENT. This award recognizes teams that sustain a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher across the academic year.

In addition to the Team Academic Award, the Bears were recognized on the AVCA Team Academic Honor Roll, an honor reserved for teams that hold the top 20% of team GPAs across all programs in their division.

Missouri State posted an impressive 3.76 cumulative GPA for the 2024–25 academic year, with a 3.78 in the fall and 3.74 in the spring. Every student-athlete on the roster recorded at least a 3.00 GPA each semester, totaling 39 semesters at 3.00 or higher, including 33 at 3.50 or above and nine perfect 4.00 semesters.

#GoBears

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