Skylar Allen Named to Academic All-America Team
AUSTIN, TEXAS – South Carolina beach volleyball graduate student Skylar Allen earned a spot on the 2023-24 Academic All-America® Women’s At-Large teams as selected by College Sports Communicators (CSC), the organization announced on Tuesday. Allen is the first member of the beach volleyball program to earn a place on a national team, making the third team for the 2023-24 academic year.
The women’s at-large teams are made up of nominated student-athletes from the sports of beach volleyball, bowling, crew/rowing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing and water polo. Allen is one of six beach volleyball student-athletes nationwide to make a team. Joined by South Carolina golf’s Louise Rydqvist on this year’s list, she and Allen are the first Gamecocks since 2021 to earn all-america honors from the at-large team’s highly competitive pool of candidates. Overall, 15 Gamecock women have made an at-large team since the awards started in 1983.
The recognition puts a bow on a trail-blazing career for Allen. A graduate student just finishing her masters in coaching education with a 4.0 GPA, Allen earned conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year from the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association, the first Gamecocks to win the award since the team joined the conference in 2016. The Mahomet, Ill. native is starting a doctoral program in physical education with an emphasis in motor behavior and a research line in sports psychology in the upcoming 2024-25 school year, having previously earned her undergraduate degree in exercise science in May 2023 with a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.84. On the sand, she was a two-time all-american who ranks fourth in program history for career wins, fourth in ranked wins (24), eighth in conference wins (19) and third in total matches played (140). Of her 86 total victories, 72 came in the number one pairing – 27 more than any other Gamecock in program history.
For more information regarding the Academic All-America® program, visit academicallamerica.com.
