June 26, 2009
SEATTLE -- Two Seattle Pacific students,
Rachel Savage and Laura Willis, were recognized for their outstanding combination of academic and athletic excellence as they were selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Women's At-Large All-District Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Savage is a visual communications major who compiled a 3.90 grade point average. The senior from Encinitas, Calif. occupied the stroke seat in the Falcons varsity eight crew that placed third at the 2009 NCAA Rowing Championships.
A four-time letterwinner, Savage won back-to-back Falcon Oarsman of the Year awards in 2008 and 2009. She is a two-time all-region rower and a three-time member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Academic Team.
A sophomore gymnast from Temecula, Calif., Willis is majoring in business administration and has an outstanding 3.92 grade point average. She was the 17th-place all-arounder (36.725) at the USAG Collegiate Championships on April 9 in New Haven, Ct.
Willis tied for the team's best vault score this season with a 9.65. Her top all-around mark was 38.50. Willis finished fifth in the all-around (38.10) at the MPSF Championships, Mar. 20 in Colorado Springs, Colo. to help SPU to a runner-up team result.
The Women's At-Large program for Academic All-America® includes the sports of bowling, crew, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, skiing, tennis and water polo.
To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
2009 CoSIDA/ESPN Women's Academic District 8 At-Large Team
COLLEGE DIVISION FIRST TEAM
Name School Dist. Yr. Hometown GPA Major
Meredith Butte, California Lutheran, Jr., Thousand Oaks, Calif., 3.76, Biology
Mandy Cameron, George Fox, So., Redmond, Ore., 3.94, Engineering
Sarah Click, Linfield, So., Vancouver, Wash., 3.98, Biology / chemistry
Audrey Coon, Western Washington, Sr., Kenai, Alaska, 3.96, Spanish / elementary education
Megan Crowley, UC-Santa Cruz, Sr., Novato, Calif., 3.67, Environmental studies / economics
Kara Hafkey, Willamette, So., Hillsboro, Ore., 3.95, Psychology / Spanish
Katherine Jenkins, Pacific Lutheran, Sr., Rochester, Minn., 3.87, Physics
Sophie Larson, Linfield, So., Eugene, Ore., 3.92, Exercise science
Megan Roosen-Runge, Puget Sound, Sr., Freeland, Wash., 3.88, Biochemistry
Rachel Savage, Seattle Pacific, Sr., Encinitas, Calif., 3.90, Visual communications
Laura Willis, Seattle Pacific, So. Temecula, Calif., 3.92, Business administration
