AUSTIN, Texas – Gustavus tennis student-athletes Chase Johnson (Sr., Golden Valley, Minn.) and Michael O’Neil (Jr., Edina, Minn.) have been selected to the 2018-19 Google Cloud Academic All-America® Division III At-Large Second Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
The Academic All-America At-Large Teams, which recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom, feature athletes competing in fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, skiing, swimming, tennis, volleyball, and wrestling.
Johnson and O’Neil are the first Gustavus tennis student-athletes to be named to the Men’s At-Large Team since Andy Bryan in 2008 and garner the men’s tennis program’s eighth and ninth Academic All-America honors. Gustavus now boasts 114 Academic All-Americans, which is the most in the MIAC and 12th most in NCAA Division III. Johnson and O’Neil join Nora Holtan (volleyball) and Aly Freeman (softball) as Gusties to receive Academic All-America in 2018-19.
Johnson, a statistics major with a 3.82 GPA, finished the season as the No. 44-ranked Division III singles player and posted a 22-5 record in singles, primarily playing at the No. 2 slot where went 17-3. Johnson finished his singles career on an eight-match winning streak and over four years went 78-26. As an All-American and the No. 11-ranked doubles tandem in the nation with Whaling as his partner, Johnson went 29-7 this season and has posted a career mark of 86-23. Johnson finished his MIAC career a perfect 40-0 combined between singles and doubles and is a two-time All-Conference Team member. Johnson has been on four MIAC championship teams, having never lost a single conference match, and has been on four NCAA tournament teams.
O’Neil, a philosophy and economics double major with a 4.00 GPA, earned All-Conference for the first time this season after going 14-9 overall and 6-0 in the MIAC in singles, and 17-10 overall in doubles with a 6-1 mark in the conference. O’Neil spent the majority of the season at No. 4 singles and No. 3 doubles. He has earned the last two season’s MIAC Elite 22 Awards. O’Neil has been on three MIAC championship teams, having never lost a single conference match, and has been on three NCAA tournament teams.