ASU water polo junior goalkeeper Mia Rycraw wasn’t always at the top of the roster academically.
In the fall of 2015, she obtained a 3.17 GPA and steadily improved through the following semesters. Now, coming off of a remarkable 3.87 GPA for the fall semester and becoming the Student Athlete of the Semester for fall 2016, Rycraw looks back at what helped her make such a remarkable academic improvement.
“Coming in I wasn’t as good at organization and I wasn’t doing well at all,” Rycraw said. “My motivation was really low.”
Congratulations to Mia Rycraw, who was named a Student Athlete of the Semester! #ForksUp #ScholarBaller pic.twitter.com/kLNQoltIWb
— ASU Water Polo (@ASUWaterPolo) January 16, 2017
Rycraw links her improvement to her organization skills. The goalkeeper said that she now sets herself up with a schedule, and before every semester, she sits down and puts together an entire calendar of what needs to be done.
“I do that so nothing is a surprise,” Rycraw said.
With the worry of keeping her grades up out of the way, Rycraw focuses more on performing in the pool and reaching her goals of winning an NCAA championship.
“It makes me feel better knowing I’m on top of my work,” Rycraw said. “And that I don’t have to stress about that.”
Rycraw credits ASU for the help she’s received outside of the pool, saying there are endless resources given to student athletes.
“When I came I found out we have our athletic building where we have tutoring, mentoring and study hall,” Rycraw said. “I now use full advantage of that, whereas my first two semesters I didn’t appreciate it as much as I do now.”
Junior Lena Mihailovic also noted how important the resources they receive are in correlation to their athletic success.
“That was one of the reasons I came here,” Mihailovic said. “I felt like this was an opportunity to study what I want and also be able to perform at a really high level and I think ASU enables us to do both.”
Mihailovic noted how water polo and the school work together to guarantee that students can balance both. Whether that’s scheduling exams around their practices and games or setting up tutoring time, ASU makes sure they don’t fall behind.
“I think ASU has done a really good job with that,” Mihailovic said.
Head coach Todd Clapper praised Rycraw for the hard work and improvements she’s made since becoming a Sun Devil.
“When Mia first got here she was trying to figure things out academically and figure out what it took academically to be driven to accomplish high marks," Clapper said. "And while she would train hard for water polo, she was missing that competitive edge."
Many times when athletes or students set high goals for themselves, whether it be a 4.0 GPA or being successful in their sport, they don’t realize what it takes to get there – something Rycraw had to learn.
“All of the sudden we just saw a switch change,” Clapper said. “Instantly she went from having difficulty academically to having one of our highest GPA’s, it’s just really amazing.”
Clapper said he saw a different level of competitiveness and a drive in practice and games that he hadn’t seen before. Clapper said he has so much pride in Rycraw and what she has accomplished since she arrived.
“I'm really proud of the growth she’s made and I think there’s still a lot more of maturity there,” Clapper said. “But I think she’s going to have a brilliant career here to finish up and I really think beyond for her there’s a lot of different opportunities for her in water polo.”
The Sun Devils will compete in the Barbara Kalbus Invitational Feb. 24-26 in Irvine, Calif. Their first matchup being Friday Feb. 24 against Long Beach State University.
Reach the reporter at klbroder@asu.edu or follow@KellyB1459 on Twitter.
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