LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Middle Tennessee State's Chrissy Givens has been named the 2006-07 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year.
Givens, who took top honors in the program's University Division, also headlines the 2006-07 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America women's basketball teams, which were selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Givens, a graduate student and criminal justice major who is averaging 21.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.0 steals for No. 17 Middle Tennessee, boasts a 3.89 cumulative grade-point average. She was a 2005-06 second-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American selection. She also was the Sun Belt player of the year and conference tournament MVP last season.
"I have to say it's probably one of the biggest awards I could ever get because I take my academics so seriously," Givens said. "It's a great honor to be recognized for the things I do off the court as well as the things on the court. Education was stressed by my parents growing up and they are a great part of my success."
Joining Givens on the University Division Academic All-America first team are: George Washington's Kenan Cole, Leslie Cook of High Point, Betsy Rietema of Valparaiso and Sarah VanMetre of Eastern Michigan.
The second team is comprised of Joanna Chadd of Eastern Washington, Shay Doron of Maryland, Jackie McFarland of Colorado, Tyler McIlwraith of Saint Louis, Carrie Moore of Western Michigan, Candace Parker of Tennessee and Megan Vogel of South Dakota State.
Third-team members included Lori Bjork of Illinois, Crystal Langhorne of Maryland and Laura Rudolphi of Indiana.
Senior Ashley Marble of the University of Southern Maine won ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year honors at the College Division. The health and fitness major maintains a 3.71 grade-point average while averaging 22.5 points and 11.8 rebounds and shooting 51 percent from the field. She leads the squad with 16 double-doubles and is the first USM women's player to have more than 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career.
A look at the College Division Academic All-America teams:
First team: Alison Adamson of Augustana (S.D.), Mercyhurst's Julie Anderson, Sarah Grab of West Virginia Wesleyan, Mary Moskal of Lewis, Lisa Winkle of Calvin
Second team: Danielle Dwello of Northwest Nazarene, Lacey Kennedy of Mississippi College, Nikki Lewis of St. Francis (Ind.), Tarra Richrdson of McMurray, Stephanie Smith of Olivet, Jessica Zapf of Pittsburgh-Johnstown
Third team: Abby DeBusk of Mars Hill, Leora Juster of UC San Diego, Katie LaViolette of Concordia (Minn.), Sharon Prange of MIT
The Academic All-America program honors more than 1,600 annually who have succeeded at the highest level on the playing field and in the classroom. Individuals are selected through voting by CoSIDA (the College Sports Information Directors of America), a 2,000-member organization consisting of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.
To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 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.