Christendom Athletics Awarded Second Place in USCAA President’s Cup

Christendom College earned second place in the USCAA President's Cup for the 2025-26 academic year, as announced by the collegiate sports association this week. The award recognizes the institutions that demonstrate the highest levels of academic achievement across their athletic programs, measuring overall team GPAs, Academic All-American honors, and department-wide academic performance.

Throughout the past academic year, Christendom's student-athletes continued to excel both in competition and in the classroom. Across all USCAA varsity sports, Christendom student-athletes achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.477, reflecting the college's longstanding commitment to integrating athletic participation with academic excellence.

In addition, 42 Christendom student-athletes earned USCAA National Academic All-American honors. To receive this distinction, student-athletes must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher while competing in a varsity sport. These students demonstrated exceptional dedication, successfully balancing the demands of collegiate athletics with the rigorous academics of a Christendom education.

This year's USCAA National Academic All-Americans include Bernadette Eidem and Aimee Simpson (women's volleyball); Maria Blank, Megan Lovar, Mary Corcoran, Serena Keller, Mary Curran, Theresa Hambleton, Juliana Beckman, Bella Rodriguez, and Maddie Lee (women's soccer); Francis Gulick, Chris Cruz, Lucas Boada, Charlie Whychoff, John Hand, Ryan Gonet, Ryan Welch, and John Hill (men's soccer); Jadzia Hamm, Alex Girata, Thomas Cahill, and Thomas Cole (cross country); Mary Pennefather, Audrey Speier, Libby Kolesar, Serena Keller, and Georgie Snyder (women's basketball); Bobby Vander Woude and Edmund Thomas (men's basketball); Peter Sullivan, Gus Coleman, Luke Roman, Joe Romero, Eamon Wick, Rowland Thornberry, and Edmund Thomas (baseball); and Juli Cuddeback, Anna Hsu, Anna Pegis, Anna Smith, and Clare Witter (softball).

In addition, two members of Christendom's rugby program — Frank Woltering and Anthony Pegis — earned NCR Academic All-American honors for maintaining GPAs above 3.5 while competing at the national level.

The USCAA President's Cup is awarded annually based on a combination of institutional rankings in overall athletic department GPA, the number of Academic All-Americans, and team academic performance. Christendom's second-place finish continues a remarkable stretch of academic success for the college's athletic program.

Since the award's inception in 2018, Christendom has consistently ranked among the top institutions in the nation for academic achievement among student-athletes, winning the President's Cup four times while regularly placing among the association's top programs. The college's continued success reflects the dedication of its student-athletes, coaches, and faculty, all of whom contribute to a culture where excellence in academics and athletics go hand in hand.