South Bend, Ind. – The Saint Xavier University Esports team had eight student-athletes earn Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) All-Academic Team honors when the awards were announced at the conference tournament this past weekend in South Bend, Ind. To qualify, a student must maintain a grade point average (GPA) of 3.25 or higher and be enrolled at their current institution for at least one calendar year.
The Cougars competed in the Valorant tournament, entering as the No. 5 seed. The defeated No. 4 Aquinas College (Mich.) by a score of 2-1 last Friday. Later in the day the faced top-seeded Lawrence Tech University (Mich.) but lost 2-0. In the elimination bracket on Saturday, SXU lost to No. 2 Indiana Tech University by a 2-0 decision.
WHAC All-Academic Team:
- Senior Francisco Cayatano-Perez (Chicago, Ill./Curie), IGN: 'Blokit' for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, majors in Communications and Music with a GPA of 3.40.
- Fifth-year senior Jonathan Cosgrove (Chicago, Ill./Brother Rice), IGN 'Monkey' for Overwatch 2, is a Computer Science major, holding a 3.74 GPA.
- Senior Brian Dykstra (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew), IGN 'B-Bop' for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, carries a 3.29 GPA as an Accounting major.
- Senior Michael Guzaitis (Tinley Park, Ill./Marist), IGN 'Citron' for Overwatch 2, majors in Computer Science and Game Design sports a 3.69 GPA.
- Graduate Student Timothy Novak (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg), IGN 'T1MBO' for Overwatch 2, is earning his MBA and has a 3.25 GPA.
- Senior Marcos Nunez (Oak Lawn, Ill./Oak Lawn Community), IGN: 'Toast' for Rocket League, maintains a 3.25 GPA in the classroom as a Computer Science major.
- Senior Daniel Padilla (Chicago, Ill./Cristo Rey Jesuit), IGN 'Monki' for Valorant, majors in Computer Science with a GPA of 3.64.
- Sophomore Aleks Roman (Darien, Ill./Downers Grove South), IGN 'gosh' for Overwatch 2, is majoring in Criminal Justice with a GPA of 3.38 away from the esports arena.
- Fifth-year senior Armend Shabani (Orland Park, Ill./Sanburg), IGN 'WHAT U GOT' for League of Legends, majors in Business Management and Digital Marketing, sporting a 3.44 GPA.
- Senior Mohamad Thabet (Bridgeview, Ill./Moraine Valley/Argo Community), IGB 'Tuby' for League of Legends, holds a 3.68 GPA as a Computer Science major. He was also named the Champions of Character representee for SXU.
