Lewis adds an academic honor to her resume
ORANGE, Calif. – Next week, Chapman University junior Liz Lewis will officially be honored as a three-time All-American when she competes at the NCAA Division III women’s tennis national championships in singles and doubles in Fredericksburg, Virginia. However, this week Lewis added ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District honors to her portfolio.
Lewis was named to the District VIII At-Large first team with a 3.71 grade-point average in liberal studies. She compiled a 25-1 record in singles play in 2009-10 and is currently ranked No. 1 in the West Region and No. 10 in Division III. The junior won the D3 Fall West Regional and National Small Colleges championships in October and won 24 consecutive matches during which she only lost just four sets.
She helped lead Chapman’s women’s tennis team to the No. 12 ranking in Division III this season and the Panthers reached the West Region championship match last weekend for the first time in school history. Lewis also earned All-America honors in doubles for the second straight year after she and junior Kelley Fox earned the No. 1 ranking in the West and qualified for the national championships with a 13-7 overall record.
It is the first time Lewis has been named to the Academic All-District team. Because she was named to the first team, she will advance to the ballot for Academic All-America consideration.
The ESPN the Magazine 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, a 2,000 member organization consisting of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.
The Academic All-District At-Large teams cover a variety of sports, including water polo, tennis, swimming, crew, golf and lacrosse. Ten student-athletes were chosen per district.
To be eligible, student-athletes must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.3 on a scale of 4.0, 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. Chapman is a member of the District VIII College Division, which includes Division II, III and NAIA schools from throughout the Western United States.