Feb. 24, 2009
COLLEGE STATION - Fifteen members of the Texas A&M women's swimming & diving team were named to the 2009 Academic All-Big 12 Team, the conference office announced on Tuesday.
The Aggies placed 11 athletes on the first team and four on the second team. A&M also had three swimmers earn special mention for carrying a perfect 4.0 grade-point average.
Ella Doerge (Clive, Iowa), Emily Neal (Plano), and Sarah Woods (Birmingham, Ala.), all juniors, have recorded perfect cumulative 4.0 GPA's during their collegiate careers. Doerge, Neal, and Woods are pursuing bachelor's degrees in genetics, political science, and chemical engineering, respectively.
Three seniors were named to the first team and one to the second team. Six-time individual Big 12 champion Triin Aljand (Tallinn, Estonia) earned first team honors for the second year in a row. Both Marissa Jasek (San Antonio) and Sally Ranzau (Alpharetta, Ga.) improved from second team honors in 2008 to making the first team in 2009. Eight-time All-American Codie Hansen (Arlington) earned her second consecutive placement on the second team.
In addition to Doerge, Neal, and Woods, two more juniors earned first team honors while another qualified for the second team. Two-time Big 12 400 IM champ Melissa Hain (Kingwood) earned first team honors for the second straight season while diver Haley Haynes made the first team in her first time to be eligible to receive the honor as an Aggie. Breaststroker Rebekah Love (Conroe) earned second team honors for the second straight season.
Three Aggie sophomores qualified for the first team while two more were named to the second team. Swimmers Casey Hurrell-Zitelman (San Antonio) were awarded second team honors.
To qualify for the Academic All-Big 12 Teams, athletes must have maintained a 3.0 GPA or better either cumulatively or over the course of the past two semesters and have participated in at least 60 percent of the team's competitions. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior athletes who have met the academic requirements and participated for a minimum of two years are also eligible even if they have not met the 60 percent participation quota.