DPU athletes earn academic honors

Three different DePauw teams and a total of 12 individual athletes were recently recognized for their academic excellence. The coaches associations of men's and women's cross country as well as field hockey named these DePauw athletes to their all-academic teams.

Requirements for the NCAA Division III Unites States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic Teams are at least a 3.5 cumulative grade point average and finishing in the top 25 percent of the field at the regional meet.

From the DePauw men's cross country team, senior Dusty Kime and junior Nathan Ellis have been named the men's all-academic team.

Five members of the DePauw women's cross country team have been recognized on the women's all-academic team. DePauw's representatives included senior Taylor Penrod, sophomores Alison Case and Melissa Buckley and freshmen Bridget Blair and Laura Ardington.

The Tigers finished the 2007 season with a seventh-place performance at the NCAA Division III Championships.

For the field hockey team, recognition came not only for individual players, but for the team as a whole.

The team, under the direction of head coach Gina Preston, was one of 83 programs to earn the ZAG/NFHCA Division III National Academic Team Award for having a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher.

Five players including junior Carolyn Mueller, sophomore Jen Snow and freshmen Liz Attewell, Katie Sowar and Alex Gribbin were named to the ZAG/NFHCA Division III National Academic Squad. Student-athletes must have achieved at least a 3.30 grade point average through the first semester of this year to earn a spot on the team.

In addition to their academic success, the Tigers finished the season with a 12-8 mark and captured their first Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference title.