Note: The following is the schedule for announcements of the Capital One Academic All-America® of the Year award recipients:
Monday, July 28 College Division - Stephen Lunney (Jr., soccer), Martin Methodist College (below) PDF doc
Tuesday, July 29 NCAA Division III
Wednesday, July 30 NCAA Division II
Thursday, Aug. 1 NCAA Division I
AUSTIN, Texas – Junior goalkeeper
Stephen Lunney of Martin Methodist College has been named as the 2013-14 Capital One College Division Academic All-America® of the Year, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
The College Division Academic All-America® teams are comprised of student-athletes from NAIA, Canadian and two-year institutions.
This the third year that CoSIDA and Capital One have named College Division Academic All-America® teams. Lunney is the third student-athlete to earn the Capital One College Division Academic All-America® of the Year.
Lunney is also the third consecutive soccer player to earn the award. Women’s soccer player
Mia Persson (Lindsey Wilson College) earned the award last year while
Jamie Achten of the Lee University women’s soccer team was selected in 2011-12.
"It is a sincerely an honor and great privilege to receive this most prestigious award,” said Lunney. “There were several amazing candidates for this award from Capital One and I am humbled to have been chosen. I would like to thank my teammates and coaches as well as the entire faculty and staff at Martin Methodist for their tremendous support and motivation during my first three years. I look forward to an amazing senior campaign beginning this fall."
The goalkeeper from Dublin, Ireland, was named to the Capital One Academic All-America® team for the second time in 2013, having made the second team in 2012. A second team All-Southern States Athletic Conference selection, Lunney helped Martin Methodist to a 19-2-2 ledger in 2013 as the RedHawks defeated Auburn University at Montgomery 2-1 in overtime to capture their first-ever NAIA National Championship title in any men’s sport.
Lunney was named the national tournament’s Most Outstanding Player as well as the Most Outstanding Defensive Player as Martin Methodist won the title after entering the tournament as the No. 16 seed. In the semifinals of the tournament against Ashford University, Lunney made a critical save in penalty kicks and then took the match-deciding PK as Martin Methodist advanced 5-4 on penalty kicks against the Saints to reach the championship contest.
“I am very happy with Stephen receiving this very special award,” said Martin Methodist head coach Chris Leonardi. “Stephen has been a great ambassador of our school on and off the field. Besides being a great scholar-athlete, he is also a tutor at Martin Methodist, a soccer official in local youth and high school ranks and a youth coach with our recreation program. Stephen has really taken advantage of everything that Martin Methodist College and Pulaski have to offer, and we are very proud of him.”
A physical education major with a 3.95 G.P.A, Lunney has been a three-year starter for the RedHawks, starting 55 of a possible 57 games. He recorded 75 saves in 2,148 minutes played between the posts in 2013 and finished with a 0.67 goals-against average, fourth-best in the NAIA. Lunney posted eight shutouts in 2013 and had a 452-minute scoreless streak at one point during the campaign.
Lunney was named an NAIA Scholar-Athlete in 2013. Lunney was recognized as the SSAC’s Male Academic Athlete of the Year as well as the conference’s Male Athlete of the Year in 2013-14.
“Martin Methodist College is very excited, two-fold, to hear the news of this most recent award for one of our most decorated student-athletes in Stephen Lunney,” said RedHawks Executive Director of Athletics Jeff Bain. “Firstly, we are thrilled to see a program like the Capital One All-America® program acknowledge and award Stephen's outstanding intercollegiate accomplishments in both the classroom and the venues of competition. Secondly, to have this award bestowed to an individual who has worked as hard as Stephen has and for us to be able to share the stage with him as he represents Martin Methodist makes us sincerely proud.”
The Capital One Division III Academic All-America® of the Year award winner will be announced Tuesday (July 29) followed by the Division II winner Wednesday (July 30) and the Division I honoree Thursday (July 31).
2013-14 CAPITAL ONE SPORT-BY-SPORT COLLEGE DIVISION ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA® OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS
Name Sport Cl. Hometown Major, G.P.A.
E.J. Grochowalski, Davenport Baseball Sr. Grand Rapids, Mich. Finance, 4.00
Hannah Helker, Oklahoma Baptist W. Track/XC Jr. Edmond, Okla. Mathematics, 3.93
*Brad Karp, Saint Xavier M. Basketball Sr. Valparaiso, Ind. Biology, 3.56
Samantha Kleinsasser,
Northwestern (Iowa) W. Basketball Sr. Huron, S.D. Nursing, 4.00
Bogdan Knezevic M. At-Large Sr. Toronto, Ontario Neuroscience, pre-medicine, 3.97
Stephen Lunney, Martin Methodist M. Soccer Jr. Dublin, Ireland Physical Education, 3.95
Kristina Marova, Embry-Riddle W. At-Large Sr. Stare Sediste, Czech Republic Business Administration, 3.87
Taryn Nash, Spring Hill Volleyball Sr. Independence, Mo. International Studies, 3.98
Megan Nonnemacher, Saint Xavier Softball Sr. Bloomington, Ill. Elementary Education, 3.91
Jessica Ralph, Campbellsville W. Soccer Sr. Owensboro, Ky. Business (accounting), 4.00
Andy Reidsma, Trinity Christian M. Track/XC Sr. Wyoming, Mich. Business Management and Marketing, 3.90
Lamont Wims, Robert Morris (Ill.) Football Jr. Frederick, Md. Accounting 3.79
* repeat selection
About Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation (
www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A., and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A.,
had $206.9 billion in deposits and $289.9 billion in total assets as of September 30, 2013.
Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels. Capital One, N.A. has more than 900 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.
For More Information:
Michael MacEachern, Young Harris College
Academic All-America® Vice Co-Chair for Publicity/Communications
mfmaceachern@yhc.edu
(706) 379-5106