College Sports Information Directors of America

STAMFORD, Conn., December 5, 2002 – Verizon and CoSIDA released today the 2002 Verizon Academic All-America® Volleyball Team. In the college division, four of the six first team members boasted a perfect grade point average, including the Verizon Academic All-America Team Member of the Year, Laura Hall from Indiana University in Pennsylvania. As a member of the IUP Indians, Hall and her teammates won their first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championship in school history and are ranked first in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region for the tournament. In addition to being named twice as an Academic All-America Team Member of the Year, Hall also was named 2002 PSAC Tournament MVP as well as a two-time PSAC Player of the Year. Hall, Chara Fehsenfeld (Grand Valley State) and Dettman (Wisconsin-Whitewater) are two-time first team members for volleyball in the College Division. In the University Division, outside hitter Karla Kucerkova from American University, was named 2002 Verizon Academic All-America Team Member of the Year. Kucerkova was also this year’s Patriot League Player of the Year. The American University Eagles head into their second straight NCAA tournament appearance after completing their second straight perfect Patriot League season including 30 straight wins, the nation’s fifth longest winning streak. Laura Pilakowski from fourth-ranked Nebraska was named for a third time as an AAA national team member, this year to the first team. Teammate Amber Homquist was named to the second team as a middle blocker. The thirty-nine volleyball players selected to this year’s national team have a combined grade point average of 3.93 and the combined average of the twelve first team members is just under 3.98. "This program finds the best of the best and rewards them for their hard work, dedication and talent. The 2002 volleyball team is an amazing example of the skill level of today’s student-athletes,” said CoSIDA President, Alan Cannon. The Verizon Academic All-America Teams program recognizes student-athletes who have succeeded on the field and in the classroom. Individuals are selected by votes from CoSIDA, the 1,800-member College Sports Information Directors of America. To be eligible, an athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 on a scale of 4.00. Since the program’s inception in 1952, over 12,000 student-athletes have been honored with the award. Under an agreement with CoSIDA, Verizon has been the exclusive sponsor of the Academic All-America program since 1985. Verizon, America's literacy champion, strongly believes that literacy is a key ingredient to success and outstanding achievements in life. The Academic All-America program is part of Verizon Reads, the company's national campaign to promote literacy through corporate philanthropy, partner collaboration, community outreach, and customer and employee participation. For more information about Verizon, visit www.verizon.com. For more information about the Academic All-America programs, visit www.cosida.com or email academicallamerica@millsport.com. 2002-2003 VERIZON ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA® VOLLEYBALL TEAM (UNIVERSITY DIVISION) First-Team NAME SCHOOL YR HOMETOWN GPA/MAJOR Lauren Fendrick UCLA Senior Carlsbad, CA 3.91/Cognitive Science & Communications Britten Follett Southern Illinois Senior Marengo, IL 4.00/Radio & Television Karla Kucerkova * American Junior Olomouc, Czech Rep. 3.98/ Business Administration Laura Pilakowski Nebraska Senior Columbus, NE 3.95/Marketing Jennifer Pritchard Winthrop Senior Medicine Hat, Alberta 4.00/Biology (Pre-Medicine) Libby Windell Arkansas Senior Gresham, OR 3.96/Microbiology Second Team NAME SCHOOL YR HOMETOWN GPA/MAJOR Jill Arganbright Northern Iowa Junior Iowa City, IA 3.98/Biology & Chemistry Paige Benjamin Washington Senior Redmond, WA 3.84/Accounting Elizabeth Gower Colorado Senior Naperville, IL 3.94/Chemical Engineering Natalie Hand American Junior Keizer, OR 4.00/Mid. East. Affairs, Int’l, Pol. Science Amber Holmquist Nebraska Senior Houston, TX 3.74/Communication Disorder Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan Pennsylvania Junior Wheaton, IL 3.98/Communications Heather Wollyung Quinnipiac Senior Lake Katrine, NY 3.98/Biology (Pre-Medicine) Third Team NAME SCHOOL YR HOMETOWN GPA/MAJOR Isabell Anderer Marshall Junior Sinsteim, Germany 4.00/Business Crystal Brim Campbell Senior Elkhart, IN 4.00/Spanish Cassie Busse Minnesota Junior Prior Lake, MN 3.76/Family Social Science Lauren Cuyler Louisiana State Grad. Slidell, LA 3.80/Management Julie DuPont Cincinnati Soph. Muskego, WI 3.93/Communication Studies Cari Jensen Kansas State Junior Fowler, CO 3.96/Kinesiology Ogonna Nnamani Stanford Soph. Normal, IL 3.67/Biology Stefanie Rewitz Hofstra Senior Rosbach, Germany 3.74/International Business * Denotes Verizon Academic All-AmericaÒ Team Member of the Year – University Division 2002-2003 VERIZON ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA® VOLLEYBALL TEAM (COLLEGE DIVISION) First Team NAME SCHOOL YR HOMETOWN GPA/MAJOR Sarah Ahnen Michigan Tech Sr. Algonquin, IL 4.00/Business Admin. Kristin Dettman Wisconsin-Whitewater Grad. Pulaski, WI 3.95/Accounting Chara Fehsenfeld Grand Valley State Sr. Grand Blanc, MI 3.99/Biology Laura Hall ** Indiana (PA) Sr. Rural Valley, PA 4.00/Elementary Ed. Kristina Kavanaugh Southern Indiana Sr. Montgomery, IN 4.00/Elementary Ed. Megan Thigpen Defiance Sr. Three Rivers, MI 4.00/Graphic Design Second Team NAME SCHOOL YR HOMETOWN GPA/MAJOR Emily Avery Savannah Col. Art & Sr. Bozeman, MT 4.00/Graphic Design Design Melissa Braaksma Lakeland Jr. Randolph, WI 4.00/Accounting Emily Buchner Northwestern (MN) Sr. Bloomer, WI 3.86/Elementary Ed. Teale Goble Northern Colorado Sr. McClave, CO 3.93/Business/Finance Kelly Martens Mass. Inst. of Tech. Sr. Demarest, NJ 4.60/Biology Nici Workman Capital Jr. Chillicothe, OH 3.92/Economics Third Team NAME SCHOOL YR HOMETOWN GPA/MAJOR Kate Cahill North Dakota Sr. Blue Earth, MN 3.93/Chemistry Jill Duling Findlay Sr. Columbus Grove, OH 4.00/Communications Lindsay Hinson Wingate Jr. Tallahassee, FL 4.00/Biology Stacey Meek Central Oklahoma Jr. Tulsa, OK 3.94/Biology Kim Pletcher Cameron Sr. Parker, TX 4.00/Engineering Design Kim Wooster Lakeland Sr. Gurnee, IL 3.91/Education ** Denotes Verizon Academic All-America Team Member of the Year – College Division