Portions of this release courtesy of Dan O'Connell, Towson University, Academic All-America ® Vice-Chair for Publicity/Communications
Click here for the 2012 Capital One Division II Academic All-America At-Large release
TOWSON, Md. - Wayne State University swimmer Catherine Leix (Flint, Mich.) was named as the Capital One Academic All-America® of the Year for the Division II Women’s At-Large Program. Leix leads a group of 11 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) who were named to the 2012 Capital One Division II Academic All-America At-Large teams.
GLIAC student-athletes joining Leix on the D-II Academic All-America Women's At-Large team are: junior Maura Donahue (Milan, Mich.) and senior Meghan Donahue (Milan, Mich.) of the University of Indianapolis, junior Julie Widmann (Littleton, Colo.) of Ashland University, senior Sarah Hoffman of Grand Valley State University and junior Alexandria Quast (Lockport, N.Y) of Tiffin University.
GLIAC student-athletes named to the Capital One D-II Academic All-America Men's At-Large team are: senior Austin Biefnes (Aurora, Colo.) and senior Guy Kogel (Nahalal, Israel) of the University of Indianapolis, junior Tyler Remmel (Hubertus, Wis.), junior Oscar Gamarra (Guayaquil, Ecuador) of Wayne State and senior Marc Roesslein (Basel, Switzerland) of Grand Valley State.
A repeat selection on the Capital One Academic All-America® Division II Women’s At-Large first team, Leix led Wayne State to its first NCAA Division II national championship in swimming and diving. She was also named as the Detroit Athletic Club Michigan College Female Athlete of the Year. Leix swam the second leg of the 2012 national champion 800-frees relay which set a school record. In addition, she was a first team All-America in the 500-free, 1000-free and 1650-free, as well as earning honorable mention All-America accolades in the 200-free.
A native of Flint, Mich., Leix concluded her collegiate career as a 16-time All-American (11 first team – nine individual and two relays, plus five time honorable mention All-American – four individual and one relay). At the 2012 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship Meet, she won her second straight GLIAC titles in the 500-free and the 1650-free. She broke the GLIAC record in the 500-free, a mark that stood for 21 years. She had a perfect 4.00 term G.P.A.six times.
A nursing major with a 3.75 G.P.A., Maura Donahue has been named as the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Swimmer of the Year the last two seasons. While leading Indianapolis to an 11th place finish at the NCAA championship meet, she earned seven All-America honors. In her career, the Milan, Mich. native has accumulated 17 first team All-America awards and four honorable mention notices. She led the Greyhounds to a third place finish at the GLIAC championship meet by winning the 100-free, the 200-free and two relays. A three-time national runner-up, she was the GLIAC Freshman of the Year in 2010.
The older sister of Maura, Meghan Donahue is a computer science major with a 3.84 G.P.A. A nine-time NCAA first team All-American in her career, she earned honorable mention All-America notice eight times. The winner of the 2011 UIndy Chuck Mallendar Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, the Milan, Mich. native graduated as the owner of school records in the 100 and 200 backstroke. She is also a member of all five school record-setting relay teams.
One of three juniors on the Capital One Academic All-America® Women’s At-Large Division II first team, Widmann is a marketing major with a 3.89 G.P.A. A native of Littleton, Col., she won the national championship in the 100-backstroke, setting a school record (0:54.66). A 20-time All-American in her career, she has also been part of two 200-yard freestyle relay teams that won national titles. She helped Ashland to a seventh place finish in 2012.
Hoffman, who recently completed her senior season, owns a 3.83 grade point average as a nursing major. A four-time All-GLIAC selection and three-time First Team All-GLIAC honoree, she finished the 2011-12 campaign with the second-lowest stroke average (74.76) in all of Division II. Named to the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) All-America First Team this year, Hoffman earned three NGCA All-American honors during her Laker career. She won five events in 2011-12 to tie a GVSU single-season record and finished her career with 11 tournament victories. Hoffman tied for fifth place at this year's NCAA Division II National Championship and finished in the top-25 at the National Championship four years in a row. She has been named to the GLIAC Academic All-Excellence team twice and made the Dean's List at GVSU six times.
Quast, a Lockport, New York native, tied with Wayne State's Catherine Leix for the third-highest GPA amongst the honored Division II athletes. She holds a 3.96 GPA in Sports and Recreation Management. Quast finished the season as the national leader in goals scored and goals per game average, her second consecutive season as the national leader in goals per game.
A senior chemistry/pre-med major with a 3.99 G.P.A., Biefnes was a third team selection on the Capital One Academic All-America® Division II Men’s At-Large last year. A native of Aurora, Col., he was an honorable mention All-American in the 400 I.M. and the 200-free relay. He won the consolation final in the 200-yard backstroke and the 400-yard IM at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship meet. He finished his career fourth all-time on the Greyhounds’ all-time list in the 200-yard backstroke, 200-yard IM and 400-yard IM.
A native of Nahalal, Israel, Kogel is a graduate student who is working on his MBA. He graduated from Indianapolis with a degree in computer science and a 3.78 GPA. Honored as the UIndy swimming Most Valuable Performer twice, he earned All-American honors at the 2012 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships with a seventh place showing in the 200-yard butterfly, 200-yard medley relay, and 400-yard medley relay. He was also an honorable mention All-American in the 100-yard butterfly and 400-yard free relay. He ended his career as the school record-holder in the 200-yard butterfly and part of the 200 and 400-yard medley relay teams.
Remmel is a journalism major with a 3.85 grade-point average. He has earned 10 All-America awards in his career and has qualified for the 2012 United States Olympic Trials in the 100 breaststroke. At the 2012 NCAA Championships Remmel was 11th in the 200 breaststroke, 100 breaststroke and 400 medley relay. He was on the 200 free relay that was 15th and the 200 medley relay that was 15th. Remmel and the Eagles were 16th at nationals. Remmel is a member of the GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team and is the design editor of AU’s campus newspaper, The Collegian. Remmel is part of AU’s Honors Program in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Gamarra maintains a 3.91 cumulative grade-point average, while majoring in finance with a minor in economics. He is a two-time Academic All-District selection earning First Team honors in 2012 after being voted to the Second Team in 2011. He also was voted Second Team All-GLIAC on the court a year ago. Gamarra has been named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (term gpa 3.5+) all five semesters at WSU including three 4.00 terms. He will enter his senior season ninth in all-time singles wins (36) and sixth in career doubles wins (41). With his selection, Gamarra becomes the first men's tennis player in school history to receive Academic All-America accolades.
Roesslein was tabbed to the All-GLIAC second team for the second straight year, while boasting a 3.78 grade-point average in biomedical science. This season, he posted a 22-10 overall record, including a 16-8 mark in dual matches to rank second in the GLIAC. The senior was 16-6 in the No. 3 spot for the year. Roesslein had an 18-16 overall record in doubles play, also pairing with sophomore Bryan Hodges to record a 6-8 mark at No. 2 doubles for part of the season. For his career, Roesslein ranks fourth all-time in combined career wins at Grand Valley State with a record of 129-114.
About the Academic
All-America® Program
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.
For more information about the Academic All-America® Teams
program, please visit www.cosida.com.