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.