Goalie duo named to Capital One Academic All-District teams

ORANGE, Calif. – They've made their water polo careers by keeping their opponents off the scoreboard, while on their own scoring with regularity in the classroom. Chapman University's men's and women's aquatics programs placed a pair of goalies on the Capital One Academic All-District VIII At-Large teams on Friday, as voted on by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Senior men's water polo goalie Taylor Roszkos and sophomore women's swimmer/water polo goalie Kirsten Spicer have been named to their respective men's and women's teams; a first-time honor for each. The duo struck a measured balance between a high GPA (grade-point average) and a low GAA (goals against average) to become the first water polo goalies in Chapman history to earn Academic All-District honors.

Roszkos has been a classroom all-star throughout his career, earning All-Academic honors three times each from the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) and the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC). He's also been an all-star in the water, earning ACWPC All-America three times in his career, including first-team honors in 2012. He finished last season with a total of 226 blocks in 22 games and a career-best 10.83 goals-against average. The first team All-SCIAC member ended his career at Chapman with the second most blocks in school history, totaling at 785, and has a 3.51 GPA as a digital arts major.

On the women's side, Spicer played in 18 games and averaged 10.8 saves per four quarters. The sophomore finished the 2013 season with 132 blocks and a goals-against average of 8.94. She's also the fastest sprint swimmer in Chapman history setting a school record at the SCIAC Championships in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.74 to go along with three other relay records in the 200- and 400-yard medleys and the 200-yard freestyle relay. The two-sport star has done all of that while maintaining a 3.91 GPA as a double major in education and history.

Spicer becomes the first women's swimming and water polo dual-sport star to earn Academic All-District honors since 2005 when Teri Bartel and Jody Martinovich each earned the award.

The Capital One Academic All-America program honors male and female student-athletes in 12 sports annually. To be eligible, students must be varsity starters or key reserves, maintain a grade-point average of 3.30 on a 4.00 scale, and hold at least a sophomore standing. Chapman is a member of District VIII, which includes every Division III school from throughout the Western United States.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Capital One Academic All-District At-Large Teams

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