St. Peter, Minn. – The 2013-14 Capital One Academic All-District Women’s At-Large Team, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America, have been released to recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. Among the list of individuals from District 6 receiving CoSIDA Academic All-District honors are a pair of Gustavus student-athletes – senior swimmer Alissa Tinklenberg (Willmar, Minn.) and junior hockey player Carolyn Draayer (Deephaven, Minn.).
Capital One has been the entitlement rights holder to CoSIDA’s Academic All-America teams programs since 2011. The Academic All-District teams include the student-athletes listed on the following pages and are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. 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.
Earning a spot on the Capital One Academic All-District Team and then later a place on the Capital One Academic All-America Team as a junior, Alissa Tinklenberg takes home All-District recognition for the second time in her career. In the pool, Tinklenberg put the finishing touches on a career that was already recognized as the most illustrious in the history of women’s swimming and diving at Gustavus. Head Coach Jon Carlson’s three-year captain led the Gusties to a fifth consecutive MIAC Championship and a program-best seventh place finish at the NCAA Championships.
To go along Gustavus’s outstanding team success over the 2013-14 school year, Tinklenberg turned in what was the best season of her four-year tenure donning a three-crowned swim cap. She was named the MIAC Women’s Swimmer-of-the-Year for the second straight season after winning all three of her individual events and being a part of four gold medal relays at the MIAC Championships. At the NCAA Championships, the Willmar native took home All-America honors in the 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke, 200-free relay, 400-medley relay, and 400-free relay.
Alissa Tinklenberg was recently named one of 29 female winter sports student-athlete recipients of a prestigious NCAA postgraduate scholarship, becoming the 35th Gustie to receive such an honor. Alissa is an accounting major with a cumulative grade point average of 3.79.
Named a captain this season as a junior center, Carolyn Draayer makes her first appearance on the Capital One Academic All-District Team. An MIAC honorable mention performer her first two seasons, Draayer took home All-Conference accolades for the first time this season. She played in all 27 games and finished with 14 points off eight goals and six assists. Draayer’s goal breakdown included three game-winners, three on the power play, and three short-handed. She has played in 87-of-89 games for Head Coach Mike Carroll, recording a total of 61 points off 40 goals and 41 assists.
With a near-perfect GPA of 3.98 in communication studies, Carolyn Draayer has been awarded two prestigious honors for her prowess in the classroom. At the 2013 NCAA Championship held in Superior, Wisconsin, Draayer received the NCAA Elite 89 Award given to the player with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s championships. Following Gustavus’s narrow loss to St. Thomas in the 2014 MIAC Playoff Championship, Draayer earned the MIAC Elite 22 Award, which is presented to the individual with the highest GPA on the active roster at the MIAC Playoff championship contest.
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.
First-team Academic All-District honorees advance to the Capital One Academic All-America Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.