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• Daniel Monteroso of West Liberty Headlines NCAA Division II Men's Team
• Miranda Ristau of Northern State Headlines NCAA Division II Women's Team
• 2017-18 Academic All-America® Teams and Honorees
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West Liberty's Daniel Monteroso, Northern State's Miranda Ristau headline CoSIDA Academic All-America® NCAA Division II Basketball Teams
Miranda Ristau
Daniel Monteroso
AUSTIN, Texas – West Liberty University graduate student guard Daniel Monteroso and Northern State University senior center Miranda Ristau headline the 2017-18 Academic All-America® Division II Basketball Teams as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
The Division II Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II national governance structure to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2017-18 Division II Academic All-America® teams program.
Monteroso is the recipient of the CoSIDA Academic All-America® of the Year award for Division II men’s basketball, while Ristau was named the CoSIDA Academic All-America® of the Year for Division II women’s basketball.
Monteroso, a native of St. Clairsville, Ohio, paces the top ranked Division II offense in the country (106.6 points per game), leading the Hilltoppers by averaging 20.3 points per game. He has helped West Liberty earn its ninth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament and a No. 12 listing in the final National Association of Basketball Coaches ranking. The senior was recently named to the Mountain East Conference All-Tournament Team after averaging 34.5 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per contest during the event.
Monteroso is making his second straight appearance on the Academic All-America® Division II Basketball Team, also earning first team honors in 2016-17. The graduate student is pursuing a master’s degree in education and holds a perfect 4.00 GPA. Last year, he was named to the MEC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was a Basketball Times Third Team All-American.
The six CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division II men’s basketball first team members hold a composite 3.93 GPA. Three members of the 15-player first, second and third teams honorees hold a perfect 4.00 cumulative GPA.
Five CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division II men’s basketball selections are repeat picks from the 2016-17 honor listing, including one player making the 2017-18 first team, one selection to the second team and three represented on this year’s third team. The repeat performers from the men’s team include Monteroso, University of Central Missouri’s Spencer Reaves, a third team selection in 2016-17, Adelphi University’s Michael Coffey, a first team honoree in 2016-17, Alex Hagan from Rockhurst University, a third team member in 2016-17, and Brady Skeens from Washburn University, a third team honoree last year.
Ristau a native of Warner, South Dakota, was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Player of the Year and finished the year leading the squad by averaging 19.8 points per game. The Wolves lead the country in rebounding thanks to Ristau’s team high 7.8 boards per game, while her team ranks sixth in the nation in field goal percentage aided by Ristau’s 56.3 percent shooting (254-of-451). She joined Northern State’s 1,000 career point club this season and currently ranks sixth in school history with 1,461 career points.
Ristau is making her first appearance on the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division II Basketball Team thanks to a perfect 4.00 GPA as a biology major. She helped the Wolves earn an at-large berth into the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament, where Northern State upended Arkansas Tech University in the first round, for the program’s first postseason win in five years, and fell to Augustana (S.D.) University in the semifinal round of the Central Region Tournament.
The six CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division II women’s basketball first team members hold a composite 3.94 GPA. Seven members of the 16-player first, second and third teams honorees hold a perfect 4.00 cumulative GPA.
Three CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division II women’s basketball selections are repeat picks from the 2016-17 honor squads with the trio of players making the 2017-18 first team. The repeat performers from the women’s team include Ashland University’s Andi Daugherty, a second team selection in both 2015-16 and 2016-17, Minnesota State University – Moorhead’s Drew Sannes, a third team honoree in 2016-17, and Ashland’s Laina Snyder, a second team selection in 2016-17
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Michael MacEachern, Young Harris College | Academic All-America® Co-Director for Publicity
mfmaceachern@yhc.edu | (706) 379-5106
Todd Wetmore, Liberty University University | Academic All-America® Coordinator of Publicity
twetmore@liberty.edu | (434) 582-2292