July 11, 2006
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech’s Noah Copeland, Stephanie England, Ofer Finkler, Jason Howard, Teemu Kettunen, Ashley Kracke and Sam Morgan were named to the 2006 College Swimming Coaches Athletic Association of America (CSCAA) Academic All-American teams, announced by the CSCAA on Tuesday.
“These student-athletes have done a great job in balancing athletics and classroom work,” said Tech coach Stuart Wilson. “The upperclassmen have done a tremendous job relaying the message to our underclassmen on the importance of being able to manage your school work and competition. The coaching staff is proud of all of these accomplishments.”
The men’s swimming and diving team finished 10th in the nation among Division I schools, attaining a team GPA of 3.24 for the spring semester, while the women’s team was one of 70 Div. I programs to achieve a 3.18 GPA or higher.
To make the All-American team you must compete in the NCAA Championships and achieve a 3.50 grade point average. In order to be selected to the CSCAA Academic All-American honorable mention team, you must swim a NCAA `B’ qualifying standard and attain a 3.50 GPA.
Morgan, a senior from Gainesville, Ga., finished his career as a two-time honorable mention All-American in the 1650-yard freestyle and earns his first CSCAA Academic All-American selection, becoming just the third Tech athlete to accomplish that feat. He won an Atlantic Coast Conference championship in the mile at the 2005 ACC Championships and earned All-ACC honors in the 1650 free at the 2006 ACC meet.
Copeland, a freshman from Fayetteville, Ga., made the honorable mention team after posting a 3.71 GPA and clocking a NCAA `B’ cut time of 1:38.09 in the 200 free.
England, a sophomore from Titusville, Fla., finished the spring semester with a 3.58 GPA in chemical engineering and posted a sixth-place finish for the Jackets on the platform at the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships.
Finkler, a junior from Rishon-Le-Zion, Israel, swam a leg of the Tech 800 free relay team that clocked a NCAA `B’ standard time of 6:37.09 at the ACC Championships. Finkler is a first-time selection after posting a team-high 3.92 GPA for the spring semester.
Howard, a senior from Snellville, Ga., earned his third consecutive CSCAA Academic All-American honorable mention honor for the Yellow Jackets. Howard, an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III second team honoree, earned a spot after participating on the 800 free relay team at the ACC meet and maintained a 3.66 GPA for the spring semester.
Kettunen, a senior from Jarvenpaa, Finland, earned a spot on the honorable mention team for Tech after clocking a NCAA `B’ cut time of 48.55 in the 100 butterfly at the conference championship. He attained a 3.54 GPA for the spring semester and broke the school record in the 50 free with a split time of 20.35.
Kracke, a senior from Vestavia Hills, Ala., is a four-time CSCAA Academic All-American honorable mention honoree. She clocked a NCAA `B’ cut time of 2:01.37 in the 200 backstroke to lead the Jackets and maintained a GPA of 3.85 during the spring semester.
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