June 15, 2010

Ten Spring Student-Athletes Named Academic All-Ivy League

Historic and picturesque Dillon Field House stands proudly on the Harvard athletic campus as a center hub for student-athletes.
Historic and picturesque Dillon Field House stands proudly on the Harvard athletic campus as a center hub for student-athletes.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Ivy League has announced the names of 80 student-athletes – including 10 from Harvard – who have been named to the spring 2009-10 Academic All-Ivy League team.

The honorees are starters or key reserves on officially recognized varsity teams who have cumulative grade-point averages of at least 3.0. Each of the eight Ivy League schools nominates five men and five women from its eligible student-athletes.

Men’s lightweight crew members earned two of the five male selections, while softball players represented two of the five Harvard women honored. 

Senior Martin Eiermann of the men’s lightweight crew earned a spot after helping the Crimson finish third and win the bronze medal at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships.  Eiermann served as captain and five-seat of the crew that went 10-0 and placed second at Sprints.

Teammate Jared Dourdeville, a junior, also garnered a selection to the team after serving as the two-seat on the crew.  Eiermann and Dourdeville also helped end Princeton’s 20-dual win streak at the HYP meet, as Harvard claimed the Goldthwait Cup.
Gil Weintraub, a two-time Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association All-Academic honoree, accumulated 126 kills and 277 assists during his senior year for the Harvard men’s volleyball team.  He recorded 2.21 kills per set and ranked 38th in the nation with 4.86 assists per set.

Junior Alexei Chijoff-Evans of the men’s tennis team makes his second appearance on the list after garnering All-Ivy League first-team status in singles for the second straight season.  Chijoff-Evans posted a 19-21 overall record during the season, tying for the team lead in singles wins.  He also went 5-2 in Ivy League play at the No. 1 singles spot.

Justin Grinstead represents the men’s outdoor track & field team, as he garnered All-Ivy League first-team accolades after the senior successfully defended his title in the 400 meter hurdles at the conference championships.  Grinstead was also named Academic All-Ivy in 2008.

On the women’s side, senior Margaux Black went 5-4 with a 2.29 earned-run average on the mound for the softball team.  An All-Ivy League second-team choice, Black, a senior, tied for first on the Crimson with two saves and 76.1 innings pitched.

Classmate Melissa Schellberg, a finalist for the Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup, was also tabbed to the All-Ivy League second team. A third baseman, she finished her career with the most assists in school history with 369, most games played with 184 and most at-bats with 531.

Senior Laura Huppert of the women’s heavyweight crew earned a spot on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District first team and was honored on the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association All-New England team.  A CRCA Scholar-Athlete, Huppert was the six-seat on the heavyweight crew team that won the petite final at Sprints.

Representing the women’s outdoor track & field team, junior Claire Richardson, who recently placed 19th at the NCAA Championships in the 5,000 m, garnered a nod to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District first team.  Richardson was also named to the Academic All-Ivy squad last season.

Sophomore Holly Cao of the women’s tennis team was a unanimous selection to the Ivy League first team for singles and doubles.  Cao, who helped Harvard earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships, qualified for the NCAA singles tournament and compiled a 15-4 record in dual matches.

Spring 2010 Academic All-Ivy League Team
Harvard Selections
Alexei Chijoff-Evans, Men’s Tennis (Jr., Anthropology, Plano, Texas)
Jared Dourdeville, Men’s Lightweight Crew (Jr., Engineering Sciences, Marion, Mass.)
Martin Eiermann, Men’s Lightcrew Crew (Sr., History, Mainz, Germany)
Justin Grinstead, Men’s Outdoor Track & Field (Sr., History, Orillia, Ont.)
Gil Weintraub, Men’s Volleyball (Sr., Human Evolutionary Bioloy, Encino, Calif.)

Margaux Black, Softball (Sr., Psychology, Atlanta, Ga.)
Holly Cao, Women’s Tennis (So., Economics, Sydney, Australia)
Laura Huppert, Women’s Heavyweight Crew (Sr., Molecular and Chemical Biology, Oakland, Calif.)
Claire Richardson, Women’s Outdoor Track & Field (Jr., Neurobiology, St. Paul, Minn.)
Melissa Schellberg, Softball (Sr., Psychology, Las Vegas, Nev.)