TOWSON, Md. - Senior outside hitter Rachel Thibodeau was one of six players nationally to be named to the Capital One Academic All-America Division III First Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
A psychology major with a 4.00 G.P.A., Thibodeau earned AVCA All-American honors for Southwestern (Texas). She earned All-America notice for the second straight season in 2012 with 392 kills and 351 digs. A native of Richardson, Texas, Thibodeau was named the 2012 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year and helped the Pirates to an NCAA Championship Tournament berth and a 24-12 record.
Senior outside hitter Lizzie Kamp of Calvin College led the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America® Division III Volleyball Team, being chosen as the Capital One Academic All-America® of the Year award winner for Division III volleyball.
The Capital One Division II and III Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures, to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2012-13 DII and DIII Academic All-America® teams program.
An accounting major with a 3.69 G.P.A., Kamp is making her second appearance on the Capital One Academic All-America® Volleyball team after earning second team honors as a junior in 2011. A native of Orland Park, Ill., Kamp followed in her older sister's footsteps when she was named as the 2012 Division III National Player of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). A two-time AVCA All-American, Kamp led the Knights to a 33-3 record and a runner-up finish in the NCAA Championship Division III Tournament.
This marks the second straight year that a member of the Kamp family has been named as the Capital One Academic All-America® of the Year for Division III volleyball. Her older sister, Rebecca Kamp of Calvin won the award last year.
A three-time selection to the All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association first team, Lizzie Kamp was honored as the league's Player of the Year in 2012. She finished the season with 528 kills and ranked fifth in the nation with 4.43 kills per set.
Kamp is joined on the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America® Division III Volleyball first team by a trio of repeat Academic All-Americans® and two first-time honorees.
Senior right side hitter Kristen Bennett of Otterbein and senior setter Jessica Zavatchen of Bethany (W. Va.) were also named to the Capital One Academic All-America® Division III volleyball team last year. Senior libero Paige Aaron of Averett was a second-team Academic All-American® last fall.
Senior defensive specialist Kelley Johnson of Wooster and senior outside hitter Rachel Thibodeau of Southwestern (Texas) complete the Capital One Academic All-America® Division III Volleyball first team.
A speech communication major with a 3.96 G.P.A., Bennett was named AVCA All-America honorable mention notice while leading Otterbein to the NCAA Championship Tournament. A native of Wadsworth, Ohio, Bennett led the Ohio Athletic Conference with a .334 hitting percentage and ranked among the OAC leaders with 303 kills as Otterbein won the first OAC Championship in program history. A two-time All-OAC selection, she earned first team honors as a senior while leading the Cardinals to a 26-8 record.
A psychology (pre-physical therapy) major with a 3.99 G.P.A., Zavatchen was a four-time All-Presidents' Athletic Conference honoree at Bethany. A native of Uniontown, Pa.., she set the Bethany records for assists in a season (1,468) and career (5,147). Zavatchen led the Bison to a third straight ECAC South Championship and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
A mathematics (w/ teaching certificate) major with a 4.00 G.P.A., Aaron earned the 2012 Don Scalf Award as the USA South Conference's Female Student-Athlete of the Year. A native of Danville, Va., Aaron was a three-time Academic All-USA South honoree and led the Cougars to a 25=11 record as a senior. She led Averett with 618 digs as a senior.
A communication studies major with a 3.95 G.P.A., Johnson was a three-time All-North Coast Athletic Conference selection. A native of Orrville, Ohio, Johnson ranked eighth in the nation this season, averaging 6.12 digs per set. Johnson recorded 728 digs during her senior season while leading the Fighting Scots to an 18-14 record.
The six members of the Capital One Academic All-America® Division III Volleyball first team maintain an average G.P.A. of 3.93, while two of the members carry a G.P.A. of 4.00.
The Capital One Academic All-America® Division III Volleyball second team is led two selections from Massachusetts Institute of Technology as senior Katie Spielbauer and junior Sharon Hao were honored. Seniors Marilee Fisher and Kristen Gromes of Mount Union joined senior Mallory Palmer of Edgewood and Tessa Smolinski of Springfield (Mass.) to complete the second team.
Seniors Suzanne Jokajtys and Cat Sullivan of Rochester Institute of Technology lead the third team. Seniors Kelly Barzak of Thiel and Anna Lewer of Rose-Hulman were also honored, along with senior Cailin McCullion of Misericordia and senior Ann Whited of Gallaudet. Junior Morgan Baker of Mary Hardin-Baylor completes the third team.
Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A. and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., had $216.5 billion in deposits and $294.5 billion in total assets outstanding as of March 31, 2012. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One and ING Direct offer a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels. Capital One, N.A. has approximately 1,000 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.
Capital One, an NCAA Corporate Champion, began its affiliation with college sports with the sponsorship of the 2001 Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl (now the Capital One Bowl) and ESPN's Capital One Bowl Week. In addition, Capital One sponsors the ABC College Football Halftime Report, Capital One All-America Mascot team, Capital One Academic All Program, and supports all 89 NCAA Championships including the Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Championships, and numerous other collegiate athletics programs.
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 16,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
For more information about the Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit www.cosida.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Dan O'Connell, Towson University (doconnell@towson.edu) (410) 704-3102
Academic All-America ® Vice-Chair for Publicity/Communications
Nick Minerd, Case Western Reserve University (nxm229@case.edu) (216) 368-6517
Academic All-America ® Coordinator of Publicity
Jeff Miller, Baldwin Wallace University (jefmille@bw.edu) (440) 826-2780
Academic All-America ® Coordinator of Publicity
Capital One 2012 Academic All-American Division III Volleyball Team
Academic All-American of the Year: Lizzie Kamp, Calvin
FIRST TEAM
Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major
Paige Aaron (2) Averett Sr. Danville, Va. 4.00 Mathematics (w/Teaching Certificate)
Kristen Bennett (1) Otterbein Sr. Wadsworth, Ohio 3.96 Speech Communication
Kelley Johnson Wooster Sr. Orrville, Ohio 3.95 Communication Studies
Lizzie Kamp (2) Calvin Sr. Orland Park, Ill. 3.69 Accounting
Rachel Thibodeau Southwestern (Tex.) Sr. Richardson, Texas 4.00 Psychology
Jessica Zavatchen (1) Bethany (W.Va.) Sr. Uniontown, Pa. 3.99 Psychology (Pre-Physical Therapy)
SECOND TEAM
Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major
Marilee Fisher (3) Washington (Mo.) Sr. Mountain View, Cal. 3.54 Chemistry
Kristen Gromes Mount Union Sr. Navarre, Ohio 3.89 Mechanical engineering, Art
Sharon Hao Mass. Inst. of Tech. Jr. San Jose, Cal. 4.00 Electrical Engineering, Computer Sci.
Mallory Palmer Edgewood Sr. Poynette, Wis. 3.80 Political Science
Tessa Smolinski Springfield (Mass.) Jr. Hebron, Conn. 4.00 Communication Disorders
Katie Spielbauer Mass. Inst. of Tech. Sr. Lakeview, Mich. 3.80 Electrical Engineering
THIRD TEAM
Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major
Morgan Baker Mary Hardin-Baylor Jr. Needville, Texas 4.00 Pre-Physical Therapy
Kelly Barzak Thiel Sr. Warren, Ohio 3.84 Elementary Education
Suzanne Jokajtys Rochester Inst. of Tech. Sr. Boonville, N.Y. 3.98 Biomedical Sciences
Anna Lewer Rose-Hulman Sr. Indianapolis, Ind. 3.70 Biomedical Engineering
Cailin McCullion Misericordia Sr. Nesquehoning, Pa. 3.98 Physical Therapy
Cat Sullivan Rochester Inst. of Tech. Sr. Lehman, Pa. 3.94 Computer Sci., Computational Math
Ann Whited Gallaudet Sr. Fishers, Ind. 3.76 Deaf Studies
(1) CoSIDA Academic All-America® 1st team in 2011
(2) CoSIDA Academic All-America® 2nd team in 2011