March 26, 2009

CEDAR RAPIDS , IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today its All-Academic Team for the Winter 2008-09 season. Seventy-three student-athletes from the Conference’s five winter sports met the requirements for recognition.

To be eligible for IIAC All-Academic Team honors a student-athlete must compete at the varsity level, be at least a sophomore in academic standing and attain a 3.5 or better grade point average (on a 4.0 scale).

The Winter 2008-09 All-Academic Team is comprised of 30 juniors, 25 sophomores, and 18 seniors. Luther College has a Conference-high 18 student-athletes on the Team followed by Coe College (13 student-athletes), Loras College and Simpson College (10 student-athletes each), Buena Vista University (7 student-athletes), University of Dubuque (5 student-athletes), Wartburg College (4 student-athletes), and Central College and Cornell College (3 student-athletes each).

Forty-five of the student-athletes are basketball players, 29 women and 16 men. Seventeen of the honorees are swimmers or divers, 12 women and five men. Rounding out the All-Academic Team are 11 wrestlers.

A pair of student-athletes – both from Simpson – have been named to the All-Academic Team for the second straight season. Sophomore Andrea Benson (Conrad, Iowa/BCLUW) received honors in the fall as a member of the Simpson women’s cross country team and in the winter as a member of the swimming and diving team. Senior Jayna Fischbach (Carroll, Iowa/Carroll) has been honored as a member of both the Storm volleyball and women’s basketball teams.

The complete sport-by-sport listing of the Iowa Conference Winter 2008-09 All-Academic Team is here.

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