Nebraska's Sarah Pavan and Troy Ruths of Washington
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ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA® TEAM S ELECTED BY C O SIDA FOR RELEASE: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 – 6:30 pm NEBRASKA’S SARAH PAVAN AND TROY RUTHS OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY HONORED AS ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS® OF THE YEAR TOWSON, Md. — Senior outside hitter Sarah Pavan of the University of Nebraska volleyball team, the first-ever repeat winner, and senior forward Troy Ruths of Washington (Mo.) University’s NCAA Division III championship men’s basketball team have been named as the 2007-08 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans of the Year, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). A biochemistry major with a 4.00 grade point average, Pavan earned the Academic All-American of the Year award for the University Division for the second year in a row. She is the first Scholar-Athlete to repeat as Academic All-America® of the Year since the inception of the award in 1988. A computer science major with a 4.0 G.P.A., Ruths was named as the Academic All-American of the Year for the College Division. CoSIDA and ESPN The Magazine combine to sponsor 24 Academic All-America programs on the University (NCAA Div. I) and College (NCAA Div. II, III and NAIA) levels. For each program, an Academic All-America of the Year is selected. Pavan and Ruths were selected from a ballot that included each program’s Academic All-America of the Year. For the second consecutive year, Pavan won the University Division award in decisive fashion with 176 points, including 28 first place votes. Rachel Buehler of Stanford, the Women’s Soccer Academic All-American of the Year, placed second with 130 points on 19 first place votes. All-American pitcher Angela Tincher of the Virginia Tech softball team was third with 58 points and two first place votes while catcher Buster Posey of the Florida State baseball team, the winner of the Dick Howser Trophy as the National Player of the Year, finished fourth with 55 points. A native of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, Pavan was named as a first team All-American by the AVCA four years in a row. She was also honored as the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year for volleyball as a junior and senior. In addition, she was named as The Big 12 Conference Female Athlete of the Year the last two seasons. A three-time pick as first team Academic All-America®, she is one of only four players in NCAA Division I history to be earn first team AVCA All-American honors four times. In her career, Pavan set school records with 2,008 career kills and an average of 4.56 kills per game. She led the Cornhuskers to a 126-7 record and four Big 12 championships in her career. As a sophomore, she helped Nebraska win the national championship. The recipient of an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship, Pavan was also named as the National Player of the Year by Volleyball Magazine and the AVCA. As a senior, she averaged 4.83 kills and 1.90 digs per game as she led the Cornhuskers to a 30-2 record. She was also the winner of the Honda- Broderick Cup as a junior. - 2 - “When I heard I was selected, it left me speechless,” said Pavan. “When you look at the list of past Academic All-Americans of the Year, it is an impressive list, and to know that I was the first person to win the award twice, I am truly honored. I had always set high goals for myself when I came to Nebraska, but those were always focused around volleyball, such as being an All-American and earning Academic All-American honors. I never thought I would be compared to the best student-athletes from other sports across the country for an award such as this, and to be chosen as the Academic All- American of the Year twice is something I would have never dreamed of.” Pavan admits that she came to college with the idea that academics would be a priority. She recalls, “It was a lifestyle choice I made early on. I didn’t come to college and think ‘now I have to study more.’ Education was always a priority in my family growing up. I was going to college to get an education and having the opportunity to play volleyball was a bonus. Realizing that, my academics were my priority. I was fortunate to have people such as Dennis (Leblanc) and Keith (Zimmer) in our academic office. They understood my personality and were always there to help me out. They were mentors to me and were always there to give advice and help. Balancing a demanding major and a high-level sport takes a strong commitment, and Dennis and Keith were able to break things down for me and took care of so many things. Without them, it would have been overwhelming.” Ruths was also a very decisive selection for the College Division Award. He had 190 points and received 28 first place votes. Maria Bye, a three-time All-American pitcher for the University of St. Thomas softball team, was runner-up with 122 points and 13 first place votes. Sue Ackermann of Salisbury, an All-American women’s lacrosse player, finished third with 80 points (10 first place votes), just ahead of swimmer Josh Mitchell of Kenyon, the NCAA Division III Swimmer of the Year. Mitchell was fourth in the balloting with 86 points and six first place votes. Honored as the NCAA Division III National Player of the Year, Ruths led the Bears to a 25-6 record and the national championship with a 90-68 win over Amherst. Honored as the Academic All- American of the Year for men’s basketball twice, he was named as the Most Outstanding Player at the NCAA Division III Championship in 2008. As a senior, he started all 31 games and averaged 20.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game with a .507 field goal percentage. Ruths finished his career with 1,801 points, second on the Bears’ all-time scoring list. With 709 career rebounds, he ranked third on the all-time list. For his career, the Sugar Land, Texas native averaged 16.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. A three-time selection as an Academic All-American, Ruths was the University Athletic Association Player of the Year as a junior when he averaged 19.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. While earning first team All-American honors for the first time, the Sugar Land, Texas native led the Bears to a 25-5 record and their first appearance in the NCAA Division III Final Four. “Winning the Academic All-America of the Year award is a dream come true for me,” said Ruths, who will begin work on his Ph.D. in Computer Sciences at Rice University later this month. “I’ve always felt college athletics were all about sports competition and academic achievement. During my years at Washington University, I’ve developed a deep appreciation for the hard work and dedication that it takes to succeed both academically and athletically. “This award is a tribute to the type of program we have at Washington University,” he added. “Being part of the Washington program enabled me to earn some tremendous individual awards and this is an honor above all others.” - 3 - The Academic All-American of the Year honor, which began in 1987-88, is awarded to the most outstanding student-athlete of the year and is chosen from the student-athletes who have been awarded Team Member of the Year honors. From over 360,000 student-athletes in the nation, just 816 are selected as Academic All-America Team members each year, 24 are selected as Team Members of the Year and two are named Academic All-America of the Year. "With nearly 12,000 student athletes being nominated for Academic All-America each year, and considering the number of athletes competing in intercollegiate sports, to reach the epitome of what it means to be a successful student-athlete and be selected as the best of the best is quite an amazing achievement," said Bentley College's Dick Lipe, CoSIDA Academic All-America chair. Former recipients of Academic All-America of the Year honors include Rebecca Lobo (1994-95), Peyton Manning (1997-98), Chad Pennington (1999-00), Stacey Dales-Schuman (2001-02) and Emeka Okafor (2003-04). A complete list of the previous recipients of the AAA of the Year award follows. ESPN The Magazine, winner of the 2006 and 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 1.9 million looks ahead to give fans a unique perspective on the world of sports. For more information about the Academic All-America ® Teams program, please visit www.cosida.com. 2007-2008 ESPN THE MAGAZINE SPORT-BY-SPORT ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS OF THE YEAR University Division Name Sport Cl. Hometown Major, G.P.A. Anton Axelsson, Jacksonville Men’s Soccer Sr. Vaxjo, Sweden Psychology & Philosophy, 3.98 Rachel Buehler, Stanford Women’s Soccer Sr. Del Mar, Cal. Human Biology, 4.02 Brandon Cramer, Dayton Football Sr. Toledo, Ohio Pre-Med, 4.00 Adam Emmenecker, Drake Men’s Basketball Sr. Saginaw, Mich. Business, Finance & Mgmt., 3.97 Donovan Kilmartin, Texas Men’s Track Gr. Eagle, Idaho Petro. Engineering, 3.55 (3.33 grad) April Kubishta, Arizona State Women’s Track Gr.