June 9, 2011
By Wes Todd
Assistant Media Relations Director
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Two-time SEC Diving Champion Taryn Zack added another accolade to her ever-growing list as she was named a Capital One Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Thursday.
Zack was named to the Women’s At-Large Second Team, becoming just the second swimmer or diver at South Carolina to be named an Academic All-American. Across the at-large spectrum – which encompasses all sports other than football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball and track & field – Zack was one of just nine swimmers or divers among 45 student-athletes nationwide named to the first, second or third teams. She was one of six SEC student-athletes named to the team, three of which were swimmers or divers.
The native of Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada, carries a 4.0 grade point average as a graduate student in physical therapy. She earned her bachelor’s degree in exercise science in the summer of 2010, finishing with a 3.93 GPA. Earlier this year, she was named the Southeastern Conference’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year for swimming & diving, and she was named South Carolina’s Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In addition, she won her second SEC Championship in 1-meter diving, setting a league meet record with her score of 336.55. A three-time All-American, Zack qualified for the NCAA Championships for the fourth straight season.
Zack is the first Gamecock student-athlete named to the At-Large team since golfer Adrienne Gautreaux in 2004. The only previous Gamecock swimmer or diver named to the team was Kerry Fraas, who was a first-team Academic All-American in 1995 and 1996.
2011 CAPITAL ONE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA TEAM
University Division Women’s At-Large as selected by CoSIDA
FIRST TEAM
Vicki Bendus, Mercyhurst (Ice Hockey)
Christine Chiricosta, Bowling Green (Tennis)
Clair Clark, Louisiana-Monroe (Tennis)
Alyssa DeLorenz, Bucknell (Lacrosse)
Katie Detlefsen, Central Florida (Golf)
Elina Eggers, Arizona State (Swimming & Diving)
Kristina Frahm, Maryland-Eastern Shore (Bowling)
Amy Glen, Vermont (Skiing)
Kayla Hoffman, Alabama (Gymnastics)
Eva Huckova, Utah (Skiing)
Kaylee Jamison, Minnesota (Swimming & Diving)
Therese Koelbaek, UNLV (Golf)
Brooke Pancake, Alabama (Golf)
Maddie Pearsall, Cornell (Gymnastics)
Wendy Trott, Georgia (Swimming & Diving)
SECOND TEAM
Amy Anderson, North Dakota State (Golf)
Ingrid Ballus, IPFW (Tennis)
Erin Betsch, Marist (Lacrosse)
Nikki Branchini, Albany (Lacrosse)
Jenny Cape, UAB (Tennis)
Sarah Curtis, Michigan (Gymnastics)
Bianca Eichkom, Miami (Fla.) (Tennis)
Melissa Fernandez, Illinois (Gymnastics)
Sarah Flynn, Stanford (Lacrosse)
Rachel Heim, Ohio (Swimming & Diving)
Courtney McLane, Alabama (Tennis)
Erica Meissner, Auburn (Swimming & Diving)
Caitlin Patterson, Vermont (Skiing)
Rachel Viglianco, West Virginia (Rowing)
Taryn Zack, South Carolina (Swimming & Diving)
THIRD TEAM
Kelly Amundrud, Bradley (Golf)
Caroline Bevillard, Georgia Southern (Swimming & Diving)
Karlee Bispo, Texas (Swimming & Diving)
Venise Chan, Washington (Tennis)
Kate Chybowski, Evansville (Tennis)
Hailee Elmore, Saint Louis (Tennis)
Casey Kelsey, Brown (Rowing)
Kelsey Lindenschmidt, Northwestern (Golf)
Ryann McGough, Nebraska (Rifle)
Ellen Mueller, Oklahoma (Golf)
Becca Ruegsegger, Wisconsin (Ice Hockey)
Katie Rybakova, Florida State (Tennis)
Christina Schmidgall, Evansville (Swimming & Diving)
Rebecca Van Den Houte, UALR (Tennis)
Amy Zhang, Rutgers (Tennis)
