ROSEMONT, Ill. — The Big Ten Conference recognized a total of 780 students competing in winter sports who have been named to the Academic All-Conference team Wednesday.
The list of honorees features 41 men’s and 69 women’s basketball players, 64 men’s and 62 women’s gymnasts, 72 men’s hockey players, 157 men’s and 203 women’s swimmers and divers and 112 wrestlers.
To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, students must be letterwinners who are in at least their second academic year at their institution and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
At least 12 of the winter honorees have maintained unblemished cumulative GPAs:
Courtney Aycock, Michigan State women’s swimming & diving (So., Kinesiology)
Rebecca Berman, Michigan State women’s swimming & diving (Sr., Teaching Certification)
Danielle Breen, Nebraska women’s gymnastics (Jr., Actuarial Science)
Maddie Bro, Iowa women’s swimming & diving (Sr., Journalism and Mass Communications)
Ally Disterhoft, Iowa women’s basketball (Jr., Accounting and Finance)
Joe Johnson, Michigan State wrestling (Sr., Finance)
Elizabeth Nand, Rutgers women’s gymnastics (So., Genetics)
Varun Ram, Maryland men’s basketball (Sr., Supply Chain Management)
PJ Ransford, Michigan men’s swimming & diving (So., Mechanical Engineering)
Noah Roberson, Penn State men’s gymnastics (So., Engineering)
Heidi Surdyk, Michigan State women’s swimming & diving (So., Business)
Devon Van Cura, Penn State wrestling (So., Science)
The conference office also awards Academic All-Big Ten distinction in the fall and spring seasons and will present the Distinguished Scholar Award at the end of the academic year. Students eligible for the Distinguished Scholar Award must be letterwinners in at least their second year in residence at their institution. Qualifying students must have earned a GPA of 3.7 or higher for the current academic year, excluding summer school. The Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award was established by conference Faculty Representatives as an addition to the conference’s Academic All-Big Ten program.
The complete listing of 2016 Academic All-Big Ten honorees for winter sports is attached.
Swimming news courtesy of Big Ten.