GTE Academic All-America Volleyball Team announced by CoSIDA

STAMFORD, Conn. -- GTE and the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced the GTE Academic All-America Volleyball Team today. The Team Members of the Year in the University and College Divisions, respectively, are Kristin Folkl of Stanford and Tanya Klebe of Rochester.

 

Folkl, a senior from St. Louis, Mo., has a 3.46 Grade Point Average (GPA) in economics. The Cardinal face Long Beach State in the NCAA semifinals in Spokane, Wash., this Thursday.

 

Klebe, a senior from Yuba City, Calif., maintained a perfect 4.00 GPA in mechanical engineering. She helped her team to a 26-17 record and a berth in the NCAA playoffs.

 

Joining Folkl on the University Division's first team are Liz Cothren of Ball State, a senior from Muncie, Ind. (3.71/pre-medicine); Amy Steele Gant of Brigham Young, a senior from Laguna Hills, Calif. (3.78/sports medicine); Eden Kroeger of Maryland, a senior from Englewood, Colo. (3.77/management science/statistics); Vendula Kurcova of American, a junior from Sokolov, Czech Republic (3.95/business administration); and Martha Meyer of Marquette, a senior from Waupun, Wis. (3.91/business administration)

 

In addition to Klebe, the College Division includes Kelly Englebrecht of Augustana (Ill.), a junior from Yorkville, Ill. (4.00/biology/pre-physical therapy); Lori Janssen of Grand Valley State, a senior from Zeeland, Mich. (3.92/nursing); Kim Koelling of Nebraska-Wesleyan, a senior from Norfolk, Neb. (3.94/business & psychology); Christy Molitor of St. Benedict, a senior from Sartell, Minn. (3.92/natural science); and Elvira Vakhidova of Barry, a senior from Taskent, Uzbekistan (3.73/computer science/math).

 

The 38 student-athletes named to this year's teams have an average GPA of 3.87, with 14 of them posting GPA's of at least 4.0.

 

The GTE Academic All-America Teams are selected by a vote of the 1,800-member CoSIDA. To be eligible, an athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 on a scale of 4.00. Sports information directors nominate eligible athletes from their schools who are named to district teams prior to being voted upon on the national level. CoSIDA has been selecting Academic All-America Teams since 1952.

 

With revenues of more than $21 billion in 1996, GTE is one of the largest publicly held telecommunications companies in the world. In the United States, GTE offers local and wireless service in 29 states and long-distance service in all 50 states. GTE was the first among its peers to offer "one-stop shopping" for local, long-distance and Internet access services. Outside the United States, where GTE has operated for more than 40 years, the company serves approximately 7 million customers. GTE is also a leader in government and defense communications systems and equipment, directories and telecommunications-based information services, and aircraft-passenger telecommunications.

 

To extend its support of college athletics, GTE has become the Official Telecommunications Consultant to the National Collegiate Athletic Association as well as the Pacific-10, Big Ten and Big 12 conferences.

 

Following is a list of the GTE Academic All-America Volleyball Teams in the University and College Divisions.