May 21, 2010
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina's Chip Peterson and Kara Wright have earned ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District honors, as announced Thursday by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Peterson was named to the men's first team for at-large sports and as a first-team honoree is now in the running for Academic All-America honors. Wright was named to the second team for women's sports.
Peterson earned All-District first-team honors for the second year in a row. A senior from Pine Knoll Shores, N.C., he is a biology major and carries a 3.8 grade point average. He was named the 2009-10 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Swimming Scholar-Athlete of the Year after earning All-America honors in the 500-yard and 1,650-yard freestyle events and winning the ACC Championship in the 1,650-yard freestyle. A three-time recipient of ACC All-Academic honors, he is a member of the U.S. Open Water National Team and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa honor society this spring.
Wright earned Academic All-District honors for the third time in her career. She was a first-team honoree last year and was named second team as a sophomore. A senior from Virginia Beach, Va., she is a journalism major and carries a 3.9 GPA. The 2010 East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) All-Around Champion, she helped the Tar Heels to an EAGL team championship this season. Wright, a team co-captain, earned All-EAGL honors in all-around and vault and was second team in bars and floor exercise. She was named EAGL Scholar-Athlete of the Year and also was honored with the ACC Scholar-Athlete Award.
The Academic All-District at-large teams are open to student-athletes from the sports of women's bowling, women's crew, men's and women's fencing, field hockey, men's and women's golf, men's and women's gymnastics, men's and women's ice hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's rifle, men's and women's skiing, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, men's volleyball, men's and women's water polo and wrestling. To be a candidate for the honor, a student-athlete must be a starter or key reserve and must carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.3 or better.
First and second teams in University and College divisions were announced Thursday for eight districts across the U.S. After another round of voting among those named to the Academic All-District first teams, Academic All-America teams will be announced on June 8 (men) and 10 (women).
