March 26, 2009

Park Ridge, Ill. - A total of 41 Illinois athletes from five winter sports have been named Academic All-Big Ten. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, student-athletes must be letterwinners in at least their second academic year at their institution and carry a career grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better. Illinois athletes honored include two from men's basketball, eight from men's gymnastics, 11 from women's gymnastics, 15 from swimming & diving and five from wrestling.

All 11 upperclassmen from women's gymnastics made Academic All-Big Ten as did 15 of the 18 athletes from women's swimming. The winter honorees include U.S. national high bar champion Paul Ruggeri; Sarah Schmidt, the Big Ten champion in the floor exercise; national qualifier John Dergo from wrestling; honorable mention All-Big Ten selection Mike Tisdale from men's basketball; and Marissa Clapp, who broke three school records at the 2009 Big Ten Swimming & Diving Championships.

Complete Academic All-Big Ten list in PDF Format