Sundararaman Selected Academic All-America

TOWSON, Md. – University of Miami seniorsetter Nrithya Sundararaman has been selected to the 2012 Capital One AcademicAll-America® Division I Volleyball Second Team, as announced Thursday by theCollege Sports Information Directors of America. The neurobiologymajor becomes the first player in program history to earn the prestigious honor.

“Nrithyacertainly is a great representative of student-athletes,” head coach NicoleLantagne Welch said. “She is someone who has done an incredible job to balancethe demands of the highest level of Division I volleyball along with all thechallenges of being a student here at the University of Miami, which is anextremely competitive academic institution.”

Sundararamanmaintains a 3.90 GPA in the classroom and plans to attend medical school inhopes of becoming a doctor after graduation. She is one of just 18student-athletes from across the country to be named Academic All-America,which is split into three teams of six.

Onthe court, the setter finished her career third in program history with 2,358assists in 93 matches. Sundararaman started 30 contests this season and led theAtlantic Coast Conference with 10.72 assists per set. Earning honorable mentionAVCA All-America, All-ACC and AVCA All-Region honors, she effectivelydistributed the ball around with five UM players racking up at least 250 kills.

TheNaperville, Ill., native was also named an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar inthe May 24, 2012, issue of Diverse Issuesin Higher Education. The award recognizes “undergraduate students of colorwho have made academic and athletic achievement a winning combination.”

Beingthe first volleyball student-athlete to earn the honor, she is the 25^thHurricane to be selected going back to 1959. Andrea Beck from Wake Forest joinsSundararaman representing the ACC this year.

Tobe eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must bea varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a 4.00 scale,have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her currentinstitution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.

Sincethe program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-Americahonors on more than 16,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA,covering all NCAA championship sports.

2012 Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Volleyball Team

* – First Team, 2011
# – Third Team, 2010
% – Second Team, 2011
& – Capital One Academic All-America of Year

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