.png&type=webp)
Bowling Green State University Athletics
Chiricosta Named an Academic All-American!
June 05, 2014 | Women's Tennis
Senior becomes just the second BGSU tennis student-athlete to be named to the team
Bowling Green State University tennis standout Nikki Chiricosta has added another prestigious award to her ever-growing collection. On Thursday (June 5), Chiricosta was named to the 2014 Capital One Academic All-America® Women's At-Large Team. She becomes just the second student-athlete in BGSU women's tennis history to be named an Academic All-American.
LINKS: 2014 Capital One Academic All-America® At-Large Teams: Word | PDF
"I feel honored to be in the same class as some of the other top student-athletes in the country," said Chiricosta. "This is the perfect culmination of all the long hours I've put in studying and on the court. Not many things can top the day when (BGSU Coach) Penny (Dean) called me crying, saying that I was named the MAC Player of the Year, but this comes pretty close!
"I am proud to represent BGSU in this way, and I think it speaks volumes about both our athletic department and academic staff. Thanks to everyone at BGSU who has helped me along the way!"
Chiricosta, as mentioned, is only the second individual in program history to be named to the team. Her sister, Christine Chiricosta, earned the honor three times, being named to the third team as a sophomore in 2009, the second team as a junior in 2010, and the first team as a senior in 2011.
"I am so proud of Nikki for making this achievement happen," said Dean. "In four years at BGSU, she never stopped working hard. It was always about believing in the Falcons and playing like dynamite every day, and she had that same drive and determination in the classroom as well as on the court. There is no one more deserving of this honor."
Chiricosta, a native of Avon Lake, Ohio (Avon Lake H.S.), ended her career as the winningest player in BGSU history. Her school-record total of 190 career victories as a Falcon included 96 singles victories, also a program record. She finished her BG career with 94 doubles wins, good for second on that school list.
In her senior season, Chiricosta was named the MAC Player of the Year -- becoming the first-ever Falcon to win that award -- and was named to the all-conference first team as well. Additionally, she was the female recipient of the Falcon Medal of Honor, the highest award given by the BGSU Department of Athletics. BGSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) President in 2013-14, she has earned Academic All-MAC honors in each of her three seasons of eligibility, and has been named an ITA Scholar Athlete in each of her first three seasons (note: the ITA awards have not yet been announced for 2013-14). Additionally, Chiricosta was one of just two BGSU student-athletes to receive the MAC Medal of Excellence award.
On the court, Chiricosta had a 41-23 record as a senior, leading the Falcons in singles (19), doubles (22) and total wins. In league play, she posted a 6-2 singles mark at the top flight, and went 5-2 in doubles action.
In the classroom, Chiricosta maintained a 3.97 cumulative grade-point average as a communication major.
The 2014 Capital One Academic All-America® Team process began at the district level, as eight all-district teams were chosen as the result of voting by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) members within those respective districts.
Chiricosta was named to the all-district first team for District 5. That district consists of schools in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. First-team all-district selections then have their names placed on the ballot for Academic All-America® Team honors.
The women's at-large team hopefuls consisted of district student-athletes in the sports of bowling, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, rowing, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis and water polo.
This is the second year of the expanded Academic All-America® program as CoSIDA moved from recognizing a University Division (Division I) and a College Division (all non Division I) and has doubled the number of scholar-athletes honored. The expanded teams include NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III participants, while the College Division Academic All-America® Team combines NAIA, Canadian and two-year schools.
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 2013-14 DII and DIII Academic All-America® teams program.
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/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 20,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
The Capital One Academic All-America® Women's At-Large Team is listed below. The complete release from CoSIDA, as well as the lists of both men's and women's at-large teams, can be accessed by clicking one of the links near the top of this page.
2014 Capital One Academic All-America® Women's At-Large Team
FIRST TEAM
Sport      Name                  School           Yr. Hometown              GPA  Major
Gymnastics   Lara Albright         Oklahoma         Sr. Carrollton, Texas       3.80 Marketing
Swimming     Elizabeth Beisel     Florida          Sr. North Kingstown, R.I.   3.76 Telecommunications - News
Ice Hockey   Ali Binnington      RIT              Jr. Oakville, Ontario       4.00 Finance
Field Hockey Lauren Blazing        Duke               Jr. Durham, N.C.            3.99 Cultural Anthropology/
                                                                                           Political Science
Bowling      Megan Buja          Md. Eastern Shore  Sr. Rockford, Ill.          4.00 Human Ecology/Dietetics
Lacrosse    Taylor D'Amore        Johns Hopkins     Sr. Canandaigua, N.Y.       3.88 Biology
Tennis       Mary Anne Daines      Alabama          Gr. Ogden, Utah             4.00 Human Perf. Exercise Science
Swimming     Maya DiRado           Stanford          Sr. Santa Rosa, Calif.      3.63 Mgmt. Science & Engineering
Ice Hockey   Vanessa Gagnon        Clarkson         Gr. St. Constant, Quebec    4.00 MBA
Skiing       Anja Gruber         Vermont          Sr. Leutkrich, Germany      3.96 Business Administration
Gymnastics   Kim Jacob           Alabama           Sr. Raleigh, N.C.           4.00 Exercise Science
Golf         Stephanie Meadow     Alabama          Sr. Jordanstown, N. Ireland 4.00 Accounting
Tennis       Petra Niedermayerova  Kansas State     Sr. Brno, Czech Republic    3.97 Economics
Swimming     Emma Reaney           Notre Dame        Jr. Lawrence, Kan.          3.68 Design
Swimming     Laura Ryan            Georgia          Sr. Elk River, Minn.        3.79 Psychology
Gymnastics   Emily Wong            Nebraska         Sr. Grand Forks, N.D.       3.92 Nutrition Science
SECOND TEAM
Sport      Name                  School             Yr. Hometown              GPA  Major
Swimming     Darcie Anderson       San Jose State   Sr. Willows, Calif.         3.98 Kinesiology
Golf         Ashley Armstrong     Notre Dame         Jr. Flossmoor, Ill.         3.89 Mechanical Engineering
Gymnastics   Alicia Asturias     California        Sr. Granite Bay, Calif.     3.83 Psychology
Gymnastics   Lauren Beers          Alabama          So. Warren Center, Pa.      4.00 Exercise Science
Water Polo   Flora Bolonyai        USC              Sr. Budapest, Hungary       3.50 Economics/Mathematics
Golf         Kimberly Dinh         Wisconsin         Jr. Midland, Mich.          4.00 Chemical Engineering/
                                                                                           Chemistry
Swimming     Lindsay Gendron       Tennessee        Sr. Bloomington, Ill.       3.81 Marketing
Tennis       Lauren Herring        Georgia          Jr. Greenville, N.C.        3.93 Sociology/Psychology
Swimming     Haley Ishimatsu       USC              Jr. Seal Beach, Calif.      3.48 Sociology
Swimming     Elise Löfgren         St. Francis (Pa.)  Sr. Molnlycke, Sweden       4.00 Chemistry
Crew         Erin Meyer            MIT                Sr. Austin, Texas           4.00 Mechanical Engineering
Field Hockey Loren Shealy          North Carolina    Jr. Charlotte, N.C.         4.00 Business Administration
Swimming     Brooklynn Snodgrass  Indiana          So. Calgary, Alberta        3.91 Exploratory
Swimming     Shannon Vreeland    Georgia          Sr. Overland Park, Kan.     3.83 Int'l Affairs/Economics
THIRD TEAM
Sport      Name                  School             Yr. Hometown              GPA  Major
Swimming     Rachael Acker         California         So. Palo Alto, Calif.       3.93 French
Ice Hockey   Shelby Amsley-Benzie  North Dakota       So. Warroad, Minn.        4.00 Chemical Engineering
Swimming     Kristen Barta         U.S. Military Acad. Jr. Oconomowoc, Wis.     3.96 Life Science
Swimming     Courtney Beidler      Michigan           Sr. Richboro, Pa.           3.80 Communication Studies
Swimming     Ellen Bradford        U.S. Naval Acad.   So. Knoxville, Tenn.        4.00 Honors Systems Engineering
Tennis       Nikki Chiricosta      Bowling Green      Sr. Avon Lake, Ohio         3.97 Communication
Lacrosse     Caroline Federighi    Oregon             Sr. Pleasanton, Calif.      4.10 Human Physiology
Water Polo   Shae Fournier         Indiana           Sr. Winnipeg, Manitoba     3.65 Psychology
Gymnastics   Hailee Hansen         Utah             Sr. Bountiful, Utah         3.97 Mass Communication
Golf         Delaney Howson        Murray State     Sr. Newmarket, Ontario      4.00 Finance
Swimming     Brittney Kuras        Buffalo          Sr. Canandaigua, N.Y.       3.95 Psychology
Gymnastics   Shona Morgan          Stanford          Sr. Melbourne, Australia    3.86 Human Biology
Tennis       Veronica Popovici     Wyoming          Sr. Piatra Neamt, Romania   4.00 Family & Consumer Science/
                                                                                           Dietetics
Swimming     Gabrielle Shishkoff   Penn State         Sr. Franklin, Mass.         3.97 Psychology
Gymnastics   Michelle Shnayder     Brown              Sr. Lincolnshire, Ill.      3.90 Neuroscience
Academic All-America® of the Year: Kim Jacob, Alabama
Join the Falcon Club today!
Â
WTEN: HC Mike Bonnell vs. Northern Kentucky (2-27-26)
Saturday, February 28
WTEN: Konstantina Adamopoulou vs. Northern Kentucky (2-27-26)
Saturday, February 28
BG Tennis : Hannah Neuman Postmatch 2.17
Saturday, February 18
BG Tennis : Coach Bonnell Postmatch 2.17
Saturday, February 18