Sunday, May 20, 2012

Four UGA athletes earn All-District honors

By on May 22, 2009

Georgia gymnasts Courtney Kupets and Grace Taylor and swimmer Lisa Caprioglio were named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III At-Large First Team members and men’s golfer Brian Harman, was named to the Second Team Thursday, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

Caprioglio, Kupets and Taylor are now eligible for Academic All-America honors, which are scheduled to be announced June 11. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a starter or key reserve and must carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.3 or better.

Caprioglio, a junior from Highlands Ranch, Colo., holds a 4.0 GPA as an International Business major. She was named the 2009 SEC Women’s Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete Award winner at the SEC Championships. Caprioglio as twice been named a College Swimming Coaches Association of America Honorable Mention All-American and has won the Scholar-Athlete Award for swimming and diving the last two seasons. She was named to the SEC Honor Roll three years, is a Ramsey Scholar for being ranked in the top 10 of student-athlete GPAs, and won a Charter Scholarship for ranking in the top 5 percent of incoming freshmen.

In the pool, Caprioglio swam the butterfly leg on the Bulldogs national championship 200 medley relay team, earning All-America status. She earned her second All-America honor when she swam the butterfly leg on Georgia’s fifth-place 400 medley relay team and as an individual, she finished 19th and 26th in the 100 butterfly and 200 butterfly, respectively. She ranks second in Georgia history in the 100 butterfly.

Kupets, a senior gymnast from Athens, boasts a GPA of 3.80 in Housing and received a 2009 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and SEC Postgraduate Scholarship. She was the UGA female winner of the SEC Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Award and has been named to the SEC Honor Roll and Dean’s List three times, having once been named a Presidential Scholar.

As a four-year member of the Gym Dogs, Kupets helped lead Georgia to its fifth straight NCAA Championship, and its 10th overall. She finished her career with nine individual national championships and was named the winner of the 2009 Honda Award, given annually to the nation1s top gymnast. This season, Kupets claimed four individual titles, including the all-around,
bars, beam and floor exercise. She has earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors twice already in her career, once as a First Team member and once on the Second Team and has three times been named to the Gymnastics Coaches Association All-America Team.

Taylor, a junior for the Gym Dogs from Aiken, S.C., carries a 3.97 GPA in Health Promotion and in 2008 was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Second Team. At the 2009 SEC Championships, Taylor was named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and has twice been named to the Gymnastics Coaches Association All-Academic Team. A Ramsey Scholar for having a GPA ranked among the top 10 student-athletes, Taylor has been named to the SEC Honor Roll three times.

During the 2009 season, Taylor was an integral part of the Gym Dogs’ lineup as she recorded a 10.0 on the balance beam against Michigan, was named a Second Team All-SEC performer this season and recorded season-high scores of 9.925 on bars and floor. Taylor is a two-time First Team All-American on bars and beam and won the 2008 national championship on the balance beam.

Harman, a senior golfer from Savannah and was named to the Second Team All-District, carries a 3.64 GPA in Finance and has been named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for the Fall and Spring semesters during his junior season. He has been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll four years, is a Presidential Scholar and a member of the Dean1s List. Harman was named the Cleveland Golf All-American Scholar for 2008 and won the Howell Hollis Award as the Bulldog with the highest GPA in 2008.

On the links, Harman has played in all but one golf tournament for the Bulldogs during his career in Athens. He shot a team-best 211 to lead Georgia to its 27th SEC Championship in April and was named a First Team All-SEC performer for the third time in his career. He ranks fifth in the SEC in scoring average and is a two-time Second Team All-American by PING and the Golf Coaches Association of America. Harman has been a part of 19 team titles and has 17 top 10 finishes during his career.

- Georgia Sports Communications