May 27, 2004
Four University of Illinois student-athletes have been named to the Academic All-District V University Division At-Large Team. The Illinois honorees include Cynthia Goulet (tennis), Chris Martin (tennis), Bob Rogers (gymnastics) and Alex Tirapelle (wrestling).
The distinction is granted to 10 male and10 female athletes from each district from a combined list of nominees representing bowling, golf, rifle, men's volleyball, crew, gymnastics, skiing, water polo, fencing, ice hockey, swimming, wrestling, women's field hockey, lacrosse, and tennis. District V includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. To be eligible, athletes must be a sophomore, junior, or senior with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or higher and be a starter or significant contributor. The Academic All-District honorees will be placed on the ballot for Academic All-America, whose winners will be announced next month.
Goulet is a senior from Longueuil, Quebec majoring in business. She earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament with partner Jennifer McGaffigan; the pair went 28-10 in doubles this season. The duo ranked No. 31 in doubles heading into the national tournament and has been ranked as a high as seventh. Goulet posted a 29-11 overall mark in doubles while winning her last 15 singles matches to finish 26-9 in singles. Goulet, who played mostly at the No. 3 singles spot and No. 1 doubles position, led the Illini to their best record (17-6) since 1975.
Martin is a junior from Tulsa, Okla., majoring in finance. He was a starter for the tennis team, which was ranked number one throughout the season and finished with a 32-1 match record. Illinois won the ITA indoor national championship and reached the semifinals of the NCAA Championships. He posted a 23-7 in singles record, mostly at the No. 5 slot and a 28-8 doubles record, mostly at No. 2. Martin clinched Illinois' first NCAA championship last May with his singles victory against Vanderbilt in the national championship match. Martin had the highest GPA of all University of Illinois male athletes in his class both last year and this year.
Rogers, a senior kinesiology major from West Allis, Wis., won the 2004 NCAA title in the pommel horse. That marked the second All-America honor in his career, having earned distinction in the floor exercise in 2003. Rogers finished the season ranked third in the pommel horse and 10th in the floor exercise nationally in the GymInfo Rankings. He earned the team's Most Valuable Gymnast Award and placed second the pommel horse and fifth in the floor exercise at the Big Ten Championships. Rogers is a three-time College Gymnastics Association All-America Scholar-Athlete and three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
Tirapelle is a sophomore accountancy major from Clovis, Ohio. He improved to 68-10 in his career after posting a 35-2 mark this season, including a perfect 31-0 record during the regular season. Tirapelle won the Big Ten title at 157 pounds and earned Big Ten Wrestling of the Year and Illinois Team MVP honors. He placed fourth at the NCAA meet after finishing second and becoming the first Illinois wrestler to earn All-America accolades as a freshman.
