Senior outside hitter Ogonna Nnamani of Stanford University and senior setter Carli Dale of Juniata College head the 2004 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America® Women’s Volleyball Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Nnamani, a four-time All-Pac 10 selection, was named the Academic All-America of the Year for the university division while Dale, the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III National Player of the Year, received the honor for the college division.
It’s the second major honor of the week for Nnamami, who was named the Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year on Monday. The native of Normal, Ill. led the Pac-10 in kills (5.88 per game) and points (6.55 average) while posting the league’s sixth best attack percentage (.343). She has posted a Stanford single-season record 658 kills, has registered 59 straight double-doubles and owns the conference records for career kills (2,285) and attacks (5,164).
Nnamani, a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic team, was previously selected to the Academic All-America third team in both 2002 and 2003. She’s compiled a 3.44 grade point average as a human biology major.
Dale, who led her team to its first-ever NCAA Division III national championship, earning tournament MVP honors in the process, had a standout career as a four-year starter for the Eagles. She ranks in the top five in Division III history with 6,385 career assists, and her career average of 13.3 is a Division III record. Dale is a three-time All-America, including first-team each of the last two seasons, and a two-time conference Player of the Year who has helped Juniata to a four-year record of 141-19 with three appearances in the national semifinals.
Dale’s success on the court carries over into the classroom where the Cochranton, Pa. resident has a 3.84 grade point average as an accounting major. The two-time team captain is a member of the National Economics and Business Honor Society, and has been named to the conference Academic Honor Roll three times.
Nnamani and Dale are two of the seven first-team selections who led their team to an appearance in the 2004 NCAA playoffs. The Division I tournament, which begins this weekend, also includes Emily Adams of Southern California and Catherine DuPont of Rice. Kim Rementer of Salisbury, Jamie Stark of Central College and Jessica Walden of Concordia-Moorhead were members of teams that competed in the Division III playoffs.
Rementer and Walden both have perfect 4.00 GPAs for their collegiate careers, as does Erica Gerth of Eastern Illinois.
The only repeat first-team selection this year was Tricia Jones of Nazareth, owner of a lofty 3.92 GPA in biology. ms, two that played in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, seven who participated in the Division II playoffs and three whose teams earned NCAA Division III playoff berths.
Five of the six first-team selections in the university division, including Nnamani, have earned Academic All-America honors previously. Adams and Cincinnati’s Julie DuPont were both second-team honorees in 2003, and Catherine DuPont and Gerth were members of the 2003 third team.
The Academic All-America Teams program honors 816 male and female student-athletes annually who have succeeded at the highest level on the playing field and in the classroom. Individuals are selected through voting by CoSIDA, the College Sports Information Directors of America; a 2,000-member organization consisted of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.
To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Division I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.
ESPN the Magazine is in its first year as the exclusive corporate sponsor of the Academic All-America program.
2004 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Volleyball Team (University Division)
as selected by CoSIDA
First Team
NAME SCHOOL POSITION YR. HOMETOWN GPA MAJOR
+Emily Adams Southern California Middle Blocker Sr Phoenix, Ariz. 3.65 International Relations
Erin Deffenbaugh Northern Colorado Outside Hitter Sr Strasburg, Colo. 3.83 Interdisciplinary Language Arts
#Catherine DuPont Rice Outside Hitter Sr St. Petersburg, Fla. 3.95 Kinesiology & Psychology
+Julie DuPont Cincinnati Outside Hitter Sr Muskego, Wis. 3.97 Communication Science Disorders
#Erica Gerth Eastern Illinois Outside Hitter Sr El Paso, Ill. 4.00 Health Studies
#Ogonna Nnamani Stanford Outside Hitter Sr Normal, Ill. 3.44 Human Biology
Second Team
NAME SCHOOL POSITION YR. HOMETOWN GPA MAJOR
Adah Burke New Mexico Libero Sr Las Cruces, N.M. 4.02 Mathematics
Kristin Colson Liberty Setter Sr Austin, Texas 4.00 Mathematics
Amy Doman Wyoming Setter Sr Brentwood, Tenn. 3.95 Health Sciences
#Leslie Kuhn Wisconsin-Green Bay Setter/Out. Hitter Sr Juneau, Wis. 3.97 Communication Processes
#Heather Watts Memphis Setter Sr Sandy, Utah 3.88 Exercise & Sports Science
Leah Wischmeier Purdue Outside Hitter Jr Brownstown, Ind. 4.00 Health Sciences
Third Team
Sarah Mae Billingsley Winthrop Libero Sr Cedar Park, Texas 3.79 Mathematics
Jackie Choi New Mexico State Setter So Corpus Christi, Texas 4.00 Economics
Kate Duchek Xavier Outside Hitter Jr St. Louis, Mo. 4.00 Education
Krystal Kolkhorst Texas State Setter Sr Houston, Texas 3.96 Finance
Candace Lee Washington Libero Jr Eugene, Ore. 3.78 English
Courtney Thompson Washington Setter So Kent, Wash. 3.63 Business
ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA® OF THE YEAR: Ogonna Nnamani, Stanford
+2003 Second Team CoSIDA At-Large
#2003 Third Team CoSIDA At-Large
2004 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Volleyball Team (College Division)
as selected by CoSIDA
First Team
NAME SCHOOL POSITION YR. HOMETOWN GPA MAJOR
Carli Dale Juniata Setter Sr Cochranton, Pa. 3.84 Accounting
Kristin Halleck Willamette Outside Hitter Sr Salem, Ore, 3.82 Biology
*Tricia Jones Nazareth Middle Hitter Sr Corning, N.Y. 3.92 Biology
Kim Rementer Salisbury Defensive Spec. Sr Denton, Md. 4.00 Psychology
Jamie Stark Central College Middle Hitter Sr Center Point, Iowa 3.99 Exercise Science
Jessica Walden Concordia-Moorhead Setter Sr. Hawley, Minn. 4.00 Biology/Psychology
Second Team
NAME SCHOOL POSITION YR. HOMETOWN GPA MAJOR
Jean Anne Babin Univ. of the South Outside Hitter So Huntsville, Ala. 4.00 Pol. Science./Psychology
Elisabeth Bosma Coast Guard Acad. Outside Hitter Sr Sterling, Va. 3.81 Op. Research & Comp. Anal.
Heather Jonasson Illinois College Middle Hitter Sr Schaumburg, Ill. 4.00 Economics./Business Admin.
Katya Khmelnitskaya New York Univ. Setter Jr Albany, N.Y. 3.77 Psychology
Kristian Kleminsky Alabama-Huntsville Outside Hitter Sr Madison, Ala. 4.00 Biological Science
Elizabeth Loveless Rochester Setter Sr Baldwinsville, N.Y. 3.89 Chemical Engineering
Third Team
NAME SCHOOL POSITION YR. HOMETOWN GPA MAJOR
Angela Bagwell Texas Lutheran Outside Hitter Sr San Antonio, Texas 3.92 Business
Lindsay Harksen Linfield Right Side Jr Sublimity, Ore. 4.00 Finance
Kecia Jennings Rockhurst Setter Sr Leavenworth, Kans. 3.93 Biology
Lisa Kidwell Lee Setter Sr Milford, Ohio 3.95 Human Development
Lauren Petrick Frostburg State Outside Hitter Sr Denton, Md. 3.81 Bus. Admin.
Kristin Smith Bemidji State Setter Sr Caledonia, Ill. 4.00 Bus. Admin.
Lindsay Thiery Mount St. Joseph Libero Jr Cincinnati, Ohio 4.00 Business
Emily Wolfing Washington & Lee Outside Hitter Sr Mount Airy, Md. 3.76 Physics/Math.
ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA® OF THE YEAR: Carli Dale, Juniata
*First-team selection in 2003
Eight selected to third team due to tie in voting