Cal Contingent Eligible For Academic All-America Status
BERKELEY – Ten California student-athletes spanning seven varsity sports were selected to the 2023 College Sports Communicators At-Large Academic All-District Teams, the CSC (formerly CoSIDA) announced Tuesday.
The 10 Golden Bears – five men and five women – who earned academic all-district honors are as follows:
- Aaron Du (men’s golf): Public health major; two-time All-Pac-12 honorable mention; 2022 GCAA Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar
- Jordi Gascon (men’s water polo): Economics major; two-time NCAA champion with 20 goals scored in 2022; 2021 ACWPC All-Academic “Outstanding” selection
- Will Lavanakul (men’s gymnastics): Electrical engineering and computer science major; two-time NCAA qualifier; two-time CGA All-America Scholar Athlete
- Costas Panay (men’s golf): Computer science major; two-time GCAA Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar; two-time Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll selection
- Jasper Smith-Gordon (men’s gymnastics): Undeclared major; 2023 CGA All-American; Cal program record-holder in the vault
- Cato Knipping (field hockey): Cognitive science major; NFHCA Scholar of Distinction; four-time NFHCA Academic Squad honoree
- Lexi McKeown (beach volleyball): Undergraduate degree in molecular and cell biology; Cal program record-holder for career win percentage (.761)
- Cecily Turner (women’s water polo): History major; two-time ACWPC All-Academic honoree; 2023 All-MPSF selection after scoring team-leading 47 goals
- Kaitlyn Turner (women’s rowing): Business administration and society & environment major; three-year varsity eight coxswain; raced twice in NCAA Championships
- Isabel Williams (women’s water polo): Psychology major; two-time ACWPC All-Academic honoree; 2022 All-American; MPSF-leading 266 saves in 2023 season
A student-athlete must be a starter or an important reserve with at least a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average to be nominated for the academic all-district team. All 10 Bears are now on the national ballot for Academic All-America, as voted on by CSC members. The CSC will announce Academic All-America first, second and third teams for the men and women on June 21 and June 22, respectively.
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