Wingate’s Anna Atkinson Named To Academic All-America Team

Notre Dame, Ind. -- Wingate University junior point guard Anna Atkinson (Marion, N.C.) is a 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® women's basketball first team selection (college division). The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announces the teams each February. A Biology major with a perfect 4.00 GPA, Atkinson earns ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® honors for the first time in her career.

The members of the College Sports Information Directors of America selected Atkinson for this prestigious honor. Fifteen student-athletes were elected to either the first, second or third team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® women's basketball team.

"Anna (Atkinson) is the epitome of a scholar-athlete," Wingate head coach Barbara Nelson says. "She has a 4.00 GPA in a very difficult major. She always puts her school work first, but finds time to also make basketball, family and friends a priority."

Atkinson leads the Bulldogs this season with 15.4 points per game. She leads the South Atlantic Conference in assists (8.7), assist-to-turnover ratio (3.4) and steals (3.9) while ranking second in scoring. Nationally, Atkinson ranks second in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio. She is fourth in steals.

The 2006-07 SAC Scholar-Athlete Award recipient for women's basketball, Atkinson has earned All-SAC honors following both her freshman and her sophomore seasons. A graduate of McDowell High School, Atkinson was the SAC Freshman of the Year in 2006.

"Anna Atkinson is also a great leader both on and off the court," Nelson adds. "She tutors a fourth grade student in reading every week at Wingate Elementary School. Our goal is to help this child read (at) grade level by the end of the school year. Each player on our team gives an hour each week to this important service project."

"It is obvious from Anna's performance in both the classroom and on the basketball court that she is dedicated to excellence in everything she pursues," Wingate University Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Chris Dahm says. "She is one of those remarkable students who can not only learn information, but she can also make the connections needed to solve problems."

Since January 1, 2000, Wingate University has produced 28 Academic All-America® selections. Wingate entered the 2007-08 academic year ranked tied for fourth among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000s. The Bulldogs have 37 Academic All-America® selections all-time, tops in the South Atlantic Conference.

The Academic All-America® Teams program honors 816 male and female student-athletes 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 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 GPA 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. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 15,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.

ESPN The Magazine - winner of the 2006 and 2003 National Magazine Award for General Excellence - is a provocative and innovative sports publication. Full of insight, analysis, impact and wit, the oversized bi-weekly with a circulation of 1.9 million looks ahead to give fans a unique perspective on the world of sports.

For more information about the Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit www.cosida.com or e-mail rlipe@bentley.edu.

Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution of 2,041 students, offering active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, world travel, faith development and career discovery and community service.

Wingate offers more than 40 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, education, physical education and sport administration and the doctor of pharmacy degree.

In the spring of 2007, Wingate University awarded its first-ever doctor of pharmacy degrees. Bulldog student-athletes compete in 17 NCAA Division II sports.

2008 ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA®
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAMS (COLLEGE DIVISION)

First Team
Anna Atkinson Wingate
Emily Brister West Texas A&M
Rachel Folcik Ferris State (Mich.)
Allison Fowler Union (Ky.)
Lindsay Ippel Millikin (Ill.)
Tarra Richardson McMurry (Texas)

Academic All-American of the Year:
Lindsay Ippel, Millikin (Ill.)

Second Team
Emilee Ackerman Westminster (Pa.)
Katie LaViolette Concordia (St. Paul) (Minn.)
Megan Scheele Edgewood (Wis.)
Michelle Stueve Emporia State (Kan.)

Third Team
DeCarol Davis U.S. Coast Guard Academy (Conn.)
Melanie Hageman Concordia (Moorhead) (Minn.)
Sheena Kuntzsch Fort Hays State (Kan.)
Lindsey Maple Central Missouri State
Justine Pagenhardt Marietta (Ohio)