Sophomore outside hitter Erica Gerth has posted some impressive numbers in her two seasons with Eastern’s volleyball team.

This year she led the Panthers in service aces (43) and total digs (380). Her 418 kills this year puts her at ninth among Eastern players for kills in a single season.

Gerth earned an All-OVC Team honorable mention for her efforts this year and was the only player on the First-team, Second-team or honorable mention list to finish in the top 10 in three different statistical categories.

But the most impressive stat Gerth has earned for herself might just be her grade point average – a perfect 4.0.

Gerth is one of many student-athletes at Eastern that not only performs well in their sport but also in the classroom. Eastern’s student-athletes’ academic record speaks volumes about their devotion to class.

No other school in the OVC has a higher graduation rate for student-athletes. At 69 percent, Eastern tops all other school in the conference by at least 5 percent. Murray State and Tennessee Tech come in second in the OVC in student-athlete graduation rates with 63 percent.

In Illinois, Eastern is second only to the University of Illinois (74 percent) in student-athlete graduation rates.

Junior C.J. Weber of Eastern’s men’s tennis team is another of Eastern’s 14 student-athletes with a GPA of 4.0. He said Eastern has been able to maintain academic excellence while still having the best athletic program in the conference.

“We are the most successful athletic school overall (in the OVC). With those two stats, it says that Eastern holds education as a high priority as well as athletics,” Weber said.

But creating time to study is very difficult with most student-athletes needing to train an average of at least 15 hours a week. Weber says the key is time management.

“During the season it can be difficult at times when you have tests and matches at the same time and you have a commitment to both,” Weber said. “I’d say the most important thing is time management and planning when you have to have stuff done by. Most of the professors here care and are willing to work with you.”

Part of managing time well is making sacrifices. With class and practice during the day, the only time to study is at night.

Junior middle linebacker Jacob Maurer said the football team has rules to give players time to study. One of the rules prevents players from going out at night during the week.

“It is a different than the average student,” Maurer said. “Really the only time we are allowed to go out is Saturday nights.”

Maurer owns a 3.2 GPA and was named to the Second Team Academic All-District V.

Eastern’s reputation for student-athletes with excellent grades has been an asset to the athletic program.

“I think it’s really a good thing, obviously from a recruiting standpoint,” Eastern men’s soccer coach Adam Howarth said. “It bodes well for our university.”

With a modest team GPA of 2.42, Eastern men’s soccer is ranked 19th out of 20 teams at Eastern. Howarth and other Eastern coaches have shown a dedication to their players education. With the men’s soccer team, Howarth has weekly meetings with players who have slipping grades and has a team study hall once a week to help players who are struggling in class.

“We put in as much time as anybody,” Howarth said. “It’s really down to the kids. I can’t take the test for them. It depends how much work they want to put into it. They have to do that. If they do that then they will be successful.”

Eastern’s softball team, whose 3.328 team GPA is the best team average, sets high academic, as well as athletic, goals.

“I know our team sits down and set goals at the beginning of the year, and one of them is team GPA,” senior pitcher Kristen Becker said. “Last year we were 14th in the NCAA (among softball teams in the nation) in team GPA.”

Becker also has a 4.0 GPA. Last spring, Becker won 12 games and had an ERA of 2.32. Becker credits the Panthers coaching staff with helping student-athletes with their classes.

“With my team, our coaches emphasize academics very much,” she said. “They care about how we do in class and then how we do in the field.”

Becker is not the only person that gives credit to Eastern’s coaches for the academic performance of their players.

Professor of health studies Julie Dietz said the coaches are very supportive and on the rare occasion that she has a problem with a student athlete, the coaching staff has usually taken care of it by the time she tells them about it.

“Eastern has a reputation for that,” Dietz said. “It has been that way for a long time.”

She also said that the athletic staff had a philosophy that Eastern’s athletes are students first.

Dietz credits the athletic department with creating an atmosphere conducive to success.

“I worked at the University of Illinois for three years before coming here, and there is a profound difference in the attitude of the athletic staff,” Dietz said.