July 5, 2006
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech’s Noah Copeland, Peter Doblar, Ofer Finkler, Jason Howard, Teemu Kettunen, Rob Miller and Alex Williams were all named to the inaugural All-Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Men’s Swimming and Diving Team, announced by ACC Commissioner John D. Swofford.
To be eligible for consideration, a student-athlete must have earned a 3.0 grade point average for the previous semester and maintained a 3.0 cumulative average during his academic career.
Copeland, a freshman from Peachtree City, Ga., clocked a NCAA `B’ standard time of 1:38.09 in the prelims of 200-yard freestyle at the ACC Championships, finishing in eighth place. An undecided major in the College of Engineering, Copeland swam a leg of the 800 free relay team that posted a NCAA `B’ cut of 6:37.09.
Doblar, a sophomore from Woodinville, Wash., tallied NCAA Zone Diving qualifying marks of 335.18 (1-meter) and 332.93 (3-meter) against Emory. The mechanical engineering major tallied a 13th-place finish at the ACC meet on the three-meter springboard.
Finkler, a junior from Rishon Le-Zion, Israel, swam the second leg of the 800 freestyle relay team that touched the wall in fifth place at the ACC Championships with a NCAA ‘B’ standard time of 6:37.09. The civil and environmental engineering major was part of the record-setting 400 free relay team that posted a time of 2:59.52 at the conference championship.
Howard, a senior from Snellville, Ga., was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District second team earlier this year and clocked a then school record and lifetime-best time of 20.36 in the prelims of the 50 freestyle at the ACC Championships, finishing in eighth place. Howard graduated this past May with a degree in international affairs and ended his Tech career second in the 50 free and 100 free and third in the 200 free.
Kettunen, an industrial engineering major, clocked a school record time of 20.35 in the 50 free at the conference championship. A native of Jarvenpaa, Finland, Kettunen posted a NCAA `B’ cut and lifetime-best time of 48.55 in the 100 butterfly to finish sixth at the ACC meet.
Miller, a sophomore from Alpharetta, Ga., tallied a NCAA ‘B’ standard time of 15:21.16 in the 1650 freestyle to finish in seventh place at the ACC Championships. A major in computer science, Miller clocked his second NCAA ‘B’ cut time of the ACC meet in the prelims of the 500 free with a personal-best mark of 4:27.06.
Williams, a mechanical engineering major, clocked his first NCAA `B’ cut time in the 100 breaststroke at the ACC meet, finishing fifth with a lifetime-best time of 55.55. The junior from Indianapolis, Ind., tallied a 13th-place finish in the 200 breast with a season-best time of 2:02.49.
-30-
