Westbury High School Girls Varsity Badminton team recently received the New York State Team Scholar-Athlete Award for the spring 2005 season. The students on the team earned this recognition for maintaining a combined Grade Point Average above 90.

Doric Capsis, district director of athletics, health, and physical education, was impressed with the girls' steadfast commitment to education and athletics. "These girls perform just as great in classroom as they do in on the court," said Capsis. "Upholding a combined grade point average above 90 is a testament to their clear understanding of time management and discipline."

Michelle Brock, head girls varsity badminton coach, was delighted about the girls' achievement as well. "This group of girls is the hardest working team I have ever met. They truly deserve this award," she said.

The scholar-athletes receiving this honor include Freshmen Casaandra Castma and Chao-An Wu; Sophomores Francisca Bonilla, Sarah Celestin, Whitney Jarvis, Isena Joseph, Stephanie Leveille, Francia Mejia, Jennifer Pacheco and Lana Pasqual; and Juniors Danika Chichester and Tanya Thomas.

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association, Inc. (NYSPHSAA) is the state organization that governs interscholastic athletic competition in New York. One program the NYSPHSAA oversees is the Team Scholar-Athlete Award. This program honors varsity level high school teams which are not only athletically gifted but that are academically gifted. In brief, the award sets an academic standard of a grade point average (GPA) of 90 percent or above.

Depending on the type of sport, the number of players making up the group varies. It is usually the number of players it takes to field a starting team, plus one. In this case, the Girls' Varisty Badminton team was required to have 12 scholar-athletes or more achieving a combined third marking period average of 90 GPA or above in order to qualify. Only high school varsity teams are eligible for the program. Awards are given in each sports season: fall, winter and spring.