del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Sphere
Yahoo
Google
Email
Print
Union's Smith was a big reason for the team's success.
May 31, 2006
Kevin Smith of Union College (Ky.) and Nick Gianou of Dakota Wesleyan University (S.D.) were honored by CoSIDA (the College Sports Information Directors of America). Both were named to the second team of the 2006 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Baseball Teams.
Smith, a senior pitcher on the Bulldog team, maintained a 3.95 GPA in Business Administration and Accounting. He finished the season with an 8-4 record and six saves with a 3.19 ERA.
Gianou played first base for Dakota Wesleyan and batted .329. The senior posted 30 RBI's while he sported a 4.00 in Business Administration.
There were eight repeat members from last year on the college division team: Adam Duerfeldt (Central), senior infielder Justin Gordon (Emory), senior outfielder Damon Stoke (LeTourneau) and senior utility/designated hitter Andrew Handorf (Edgewood) were named the first team, senior infielder Andrew Wong (Lawrence) and senior outfielder Chuck Brehm (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) were named to the second team, and senior infielders Alex Shelton (Westminster (Mo.) and Ben Sherer (Gustavus Adolphus) were selected to the third team.
Others on the College Division Academic All-America® first-team squad were
The second team was comprised of Ted Serro (Franklin & Marshall), Kevin Smith (Union (Ky.)), A.J. Jezierski (Denison), Mike Ritter (Grove City), Nick Gianou (Dakota Wesleyan), Brad Smith (Pittsburg State), Brandon Burchfield (Carson-0Newman), Andy Campbell (St. John Fisher) and Randy Beilsmith (Truman State).
Rounding out the third team were Ben Jones (Apprentice), Casey Plant (St. Edward's), Brian Hendrickson (Southern Arkansas), John Hehn (Christian Brothers), Andrew Bennett (Hamline), Skyler Stromsmoe (Southern Arkansas), Jason Witzberger (MIT), Dustin Jones (Wayne State) and Joel Wells (Abilene Christian).
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, a 2,000 member organization consisting of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.
To be eligible, a student-athletes must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings 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 Divisions I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.
ESPN The Magazine - winner of the 2003 National Magazine Award for General Excellence - is a provocative and innovative sports publication. Full of insight, analysis, impact and wit, the oversized bi-weekly with a circulation of 1.85 million looks ahead to give fans a unique perspective on the world of sports.
