Two Panthers named to ESPN Academic All-District team

ORANGE, Calif. - A pair of Chapman University seniors was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VIII at-large team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) last week. Women's water polo player Daniella Beintema and All-America men's tennis player Clifford Yook were each named to the at-large team for their athletic and academic achievements.

Yook is a two-time selection to the Academic All-District team posting an overall record of 16-10 as Chapman's No. 1 singles player this year. He was selected to participate in the NCAA Division III national championship singles tournament last weekend for the first time in his career and he is the Panthers' career record-holder with 46 career singles wins. Yook has maintained a 3.83 GPA in marketing in four years at Chapman.

Another senior, Beintema was one of Chapman's leaders in the pool, helping the Panthers' women's water polo team to a No. 9 ranking in Division III. The 2-meter defender led Chapman with 72 steals in 31 games and was one of four Panthers with more than 40 assists. She graduated on Saturday with a 3.80 GPA in broadcast journalism. It is a first-time honor for Beintema and she is the fifth women's polo player from Chapman to receive the honor - the first since 2006.

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 3.30 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 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.