
Photo courtesy of Harvard Athletic Communications.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Laura Huppert and J.P.
O’Connor have been tabbed to the ESPN The Magazine Academic
All-District first team, while Egen Atkinson, Alexandra Clarke and
Noam Mills have been honored on the second team for their efforts
in the classroom and in athletics, as announced by CoSIDA
Thursday. With their first-team selections, Huppert and
O’Connor will now be nominated for Academic All-America
distinction.
A member of the Radcliffe heavyweight crew, Huppert, a native of
Oakland, Calif., recently helped the Black and White varsity eight
win the petite final at Eastern Sprints. A 2009 All-America,
all-region, All-Ivy League and Collegiate Rowing Coaches
Association All-Academic selection, Huppert was the No. 5 seat in
the varsity eight. She rowed three seasons in the
team’s top boat and helped the Black and White qualify for
the NCAA Championships in her first three seasons. Huppert, a
microbiology concentrator, garnered all-region and scholar-athlete
status as a sophomore in 2008.
O’Connor, who hails from Oxford, N.Y., finished his career
tied for the Harvard wrestling program’s all-time lead in
wins with 132. He posted a perfect 35-0 record at the 157
weight class during his senior season, en route to winning the NCAA
championship this year. A three-time All-American,
O’Connor, who went 132-16 during his collegiate career, was
named the EIWA Wrestler of the Year in 2010. In addition, he
was a finalist for the Hodge Trophy, awarded to the Outstanding
College Wrestler of the Year. A four-time NCAA qualifier,
O’Connor, Harvard’s team captain, also succeeded in the
classroom, as he garnered three National Wrestling Coaches
Association All-Academic nods, as well as three selections to the
Academic All-Ivy League team. O’Connor is a human
and evolutionary biology concentrator.
Mills, a co-captain of the Harvard women’s fencing team,
garnered All-America first-team status the last two seasons after
finishing second at the NCAA Championships in the epee.
Mills, a sophomore from Kfar Saba, Israel, is a two-time All-Ivy
League choice, going a combined 32-4 at the Ivy League
Championships the past two years. She won a tournament-high
22 bouts at the 2010 NCAA Championships and finished second at the
NCAA Northeast Regionals. Mills, an economics concentrator,
also garnered Academic All-Ivy League accolades in 2010 and was a
member of the Israel Olympic team at the 2008 Beijing Games.
A team captain of the Harvard men’s water polo team,
Atkinson, who hails from Honolulu, Hawaii, is an economics
concentrator, and was tabbed to the Academic All-Ivy League team
last fall. A four-time Association of Collegiate Water Polo
Coaches Association Scholar-Athlete and three-time America
Collegiate Water Polo Coaches Association All-Academic pick, scored
28 goals during his senior year. Atkinson had 10
multiple-goal efforts during his senior season and was named
Harvard’s Most Improved Player as a junior in 2008.