MBK | Dellavedova Earns Academic All-America Honors
2/23/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
TOWSON, Md. - Junior guard Matthew Dellavedova has become the first Saint Mary's men's basketball player to earn first-team honors on the Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Men's Basketball Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Joining Dellavedova on the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Men's Basketball first team are sophomore guard Aaron Craft of Ohio State, senior guard Tyler Zeller of North Carolina, senior guard Brad Loesing of Wofford and junior forward Mason Plumlee of Duke.
"Matthew is a tremendous leader and a great role model," said Saint Mary's head coach Randy Bennett. "He has an outstanding work ethic, both on and off the court, and simply expects to do the little things that set him apart from others. He makes a really positive impact on everyone around him."
A junior psychology major with a 3.61 G.P.A., Dellavedova has led Saint Mary's to a 23-5 record this season. While averaging 15.5 points and 6.4 assists, he has led the Gaels to first place in the West Coast Conference standings and a No. 23 national ranking. A native of Maryborough, Australia, he is a member of the Australian national team that qualified for the 2012 London Olympics. He has led the Gaels to a pair of postseason appearances including a Sweet 16 berth in 2010. A first team All-WCC selection last year, Dellavedova is a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, honoring the nation's top point guard.
According to CoSIDA records, the only other SMC men's basketball player to earn Academic All-America honors was Ted Wood - a second-team selection in 1980. Saint Mary's claims two first-team selections all-time: Women's basketball player Anja Bordt in 1991 and softball athlete Jennifer Price in 2000.
The five members of the Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Men's Basketball first team have an average G.P.A. of 3.62.
About Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A. and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., had $122.2 billion in deposits and $197.5 billion in total assets outstanding as of December 31, 2010. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. Capital One, N.A. has approximately 1,000 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.
Capital One, an NCAA Corporate Champion, began its affiliation with college sports with the sponsorship of the 2001 Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl (now the Capital One Bowl) and ESPN's Capital One Bowl Week. In 2010, Capital One launched the Capital One Cup, a prestigious new program rewarding NCAA Division I athletics programs for their cumulative on-field performance across multiple men's and women's sports. In addition, Capital One sponsors the ABC College Football Halftime Report, Capital One All-America Mascot Team, all 88 NCAA Championships including the Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Championships, and numerous other collegiate athletics programs.
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.
Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
For more information about the Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit www.cosida.com.
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