Four Horizon League women's basketball players receive CoSIDA Academic All-District honors

Feb. 7, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - University of Wisconsin-Green Bay senior guard Kayla Groh, Valparaiso University junior guard Agnieszka Kulaga, Wright State University senior forward Whitney Lewis and Youngstown State University senior guard Lauren Branson were honored Thursday (Feb. 7) as the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced its Academic All-District Teams, sponsored by ESPN the Magazine. The district honor marks the first step on the road to Academic All-America honors.

In District 4, Wright State's Lewis was the lone representative from the Horizon League to be named to the University Division First Team. The Ohio native native holds a 3.97 grade-point average in human factors psychology. This season, Lewis is averaging 12.2 points per game and has helped guide the Raiders to a 5-4 record in League play.

Youngstown State's Branson was also recognized by CoSIDA as she was selected to the District 4 Second-Team. The YSU guard has an grade-point average of 3.93 in Special Education and leads the League in assists with 5.25 helpers per game.

In District 5, Green Bay's Groh and Valparaiso's Kulaga each received Second-Team accolades. Groh's Second Team All-District selection is her second straight honor. The Phoenix guard sports a 3.68 grade- point average in Business Administration and leads the circuit in free-throw percentage with an 89.7 mark.

Kulaga, an international business major has a 3.78 grade-point average and ranks fifth in League scoring with an average of 15.0 points per game.

To be eligible for Academic All-District consideration, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or higher (based on a 4.00 scale) with sophomore or higher standing both athletically and academically. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has presented Academic All-America honors to more than 14,000 student-athletes at the Division I, II, III and NAIA levels.

The First-Team selections from each of CoSIDA's eight districts across the nation are placed on the ballot for Academic All-America consideration. The women's All-America honorees will announced Feb. 26, with the men's recipents released the following day.

District 4 encompasses the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, while District 5 includes Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin, plus the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba.

Note: The 2008 CoSIDA Academic All-District teams can be found in the PDF version of this release.