Truman Trio Gains At-Large Academic All-America

Aherne earns first-team honors; Blair, Sylvester make third team

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Three Truman female student-athletes earned ESPN the Magazine College Division At-Large Academic All-America honors as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America, it was announced Thursday (June 11).

Junior swimmer Kate Aherne was a first-team selection while sophomore teammate Tanya Slyvester and senior tennis player Lindsy Blair were third-team picks.

The selections give Truman 88 Academic All-America selections since 1973 -- 45 since 2000.

Aherne was the 2009 200-meter individual medley NCAA Division II national champion and qualified for 10 events at nationals, earning All-America honors in the seven events she swam. For her career, Aherne is a 20-time All-America honoree and a three-time national champion.

The Cary, Ill., native also was named to All-New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference (NSISC) and was chosen to the 2008 swim coaches' association academic team. Aherne is a business ddministration major with a 3.86 grade-point average.

Blair posted a 22-8 singles mark and a 15-11 doubles record in 2009. She played mostly at the No. 1 spots for a Bulldog team that went 16-5 and finished tied for second in the MIAA regular season standings. She has been a three-time Academic All-MIAA pick and has been named twice to the MIAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll and MIAA Presidential Scholar lists.

A product of Pella, Iowa, Blair was named an honorable mention all-conference at number one singles this past year and was selected to receive the MIAA Sportsmanship award. She recently graduated with a degree in mathematics and is pursuing her masters in education -- she was nominated with a 3.97 GPA.

Sylvester earned four All-American awards at 2009 Division II Swimming Nationals. She was part of a second-place relay squad and was fifth in the 100-meter butterfly. Sylvester qualified for eight events at nationals.

She was named All-NSISC and also has been named to the swimming coaches' association academic squad. The Rochester, Minn., native was nominated with a 4.00 GPA is a biology (pre-medicine) major.

The Women's At-Large program for the Academic All-America includes the sports of bowling, crew, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, skiing, tennis and water polo. College Division of CoSIDA encompasses all NCAA Division II and III members, as well as NAIA, junior college and Canadian institutions.

To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his or her current institution and be nominated by his or her sports information director.

FIRST TEAM




Kate Aherne (Sw)         Truman                     Jr. Cary, Ill.           3.86 Business Administration


Kelsey Berkeland (Sw)    St. Cloud (Minn.) State    Sr. Coon Rapids, Minn.   3.94 Elementary Education


Amie Boles (Gym)         Texas Woman's              Sr. Snellville, Ga.      3.87 Kinesiology


Elizabeth Carlton (Sw)   Kenyon (Ohio)              Sr. Cheyenne, Wyo.       3.96 Biology


Jordan Casey (Ten)       Sewanee (Tenn.)            Sr. Charleston, S.C.     4.03 Spanish & Biology


Audrey Coon (Crew)       Western Washington         Sr. Kenai, Alaska        3.96 Spanish & Elementary Education


Raquel Hansen (Golf)     Ferris (Mich.) State       Sr. West Olive, Mich.    3.99 Marketing & Pro Golf Management


Kelley Healey (FH)       Kutztown (Pa.)             Sr. Toms River, N.J.     3.93 Biology


Chelsea Hoff (Sw)        Wisconsin-LaCrosse         Jr. Middleton, Wis.      4.00 Fitness & Physical Therapy


Kristen Hohl (Sw)        Denison (Ohio)             Sr. Winfield, Ill.       3.97 Biology


Julie Kraus (Lax)        Southern New Hampshire     Sr. Derry, N.H.          3.99 Business Administration


Melissa Mackley (IHky)   Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.)  Jr. Burnsville, Minn.    3.95 Biology & Pre-Medicine


Tracy Menzel (Sw)        Kenyon (Ohio)              Sr. Greencastle, Ind.    3.83 Gender & Women's Studies


Cara Van Woerkom (Sw)    Calvin (Mich.)             Sr. Wyoming, Mich.       3.91 Spanish


Julia Zimmerman (Gym)    Mass. Inst. of Tech.       Sr. Chicago, Ill.        4.00 Physics


  



SECOND TEAM


Tara Allen (Golf)        Embry-Riddle (Fla.)        Gr. Brooksville, Fla.    3.74 Human Factors Psychology


Melissa Baudhuin (Gym)   Winona (Minn.) State       So. Oshkosh, Wis.        4.00 Chemistry


Sarah Darst (Gym)        Southern Connecticut State Jr. Tampa, Fla.          3.95 Exercise Science, Human Performance


Sara Dickson (Golf)      Methodist (N.C.)           Sr. Providence, R.I.     4.01 Business Administration


Nicole Ditillo (Lax)     Gettysburg (Pa.)           Jr. Baldwin, Md.         3.98 English & Psychology


Frances Ente (Gym)       Ithaca (N.Y.)              Sr. Mattapoisett, Mass.  3.97 Clinical Health & Physical Therapy


Laura Fandel (Ten)       Eureka (Ill.)              Jr. Pekin, Ill.          4.00 English & Teacher Certification


Caitlin Grant (Lax)      Wheaton (Mass.)            Sr. Walpole, Mass.       3.80 Economics


Kelly Johnson (FH)       Worcester Poly.            Jr. Buxton, Maine        4.00 Mechanical Engineering


Kimbra Kosak (Golf)      Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.)  Sr. Grand Rapids, Minn.  3.85 Elementary Education


Jackie LaFleur (Gym)     Wisconsin-LaCrosse         Sr. New Brighton, Minn.  3.85 Computer Science


Amanda Jo Morgan (Lax)   Waynesburg (Pa.)           Sr. Perryopolis, Pa.     4.00 Management


Lindsay Pipkin (Golf)    Olivet (Mich.)             Sr. White Lake, Mich.    3.85 Biology (pre-medicine)


Allison Retotar (Sw)     Carnegie Mellon (Pa.)      Sr. Gillette, N.J.       4.00 Biological Sciences


Alex Wolfe (FH)          Lebanon Valley (Pa.)       Sr. Womelsdorf, Pa.      3.78 English


  



THIRD TEAM




Lindsy Blair (Ten)       Truman                     Sr. Pella, Iowa          3.97 Mathematics


Lillian Ciardelli (Sw)   Emory (Ga.)                Jr. Hanover, N.H.        3.72 Psychology


Ashley Davenport (IHky)  Saint Benedict (Minn.)     Sr. Inver Grove, Minn.   3.98 Biology


Molly Evans (Sw)         Carnegie Mellon (Pa.)      So. Butler, Pa.          4.00 Biology


Jenna Klein (Ski)        Michigan Tech              Jr. Ely, Minn.           4.00 Biological Sciences


Haley Kutner (Ten)       Coll. of New Jersey        Sr. Franklin Lakes, N.J. 3.92 Art History


Kristen Larsen (Sw)      Clarkson (N.Y.)            Gr. Fort Edward, N.Y.    3.94 Biomedical & Rehabilitation Engineering


Michelle Lemmons (Ten)   Greensboro (N.C.)          Jr. Apex, N.C.           4.00 Biology


Christine Mwaturura (FH) Trinity (Conn.)            Sr. Helensvale, Zimbabwe 3.89 Economics


Libby Parent (Lax)       Southern New Hampshire     Sr. Hinesburg, Vt.       3.95 Marketing


Ingrid Stensvaag (Ten)   Wisconsin-Whitewater       Jr. Palatine, Ill.       4.00 Health and Human Performance




Tanya Slyvester (Sw)     Truman                     So. Rochester, Minn.     4.00 Biology(pre-medicine)


Katie Tabb (Ten)         Washington & Lee (Va.)     Sr. Minneapolis, Minn.   3.49 Business Administration & Art History


Kate Thompson (Golf)     Wartburg (Iowa)            Sr. Webster City, Iowa   3.74 Biochemistry


Ruth Westby (Sw)         Emory (Ga.)                Jr. Dunwoody, Ga.        3.74 Biochemistry


  




Academic All-America of the Year: Kristen Hohl, Denison (Ohio)






Legend: FH=Field Hockey, Gym=Gymnastics, IHky=Ice Hockey, Lax=Lacrosse, Ski=Skiing, Sw=Swimming, Ten=Tennis.