Three Gators on ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Teams
Thursday, May 22, 2008 | General
Three University of Florida student-athletes are 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III selections.
Senior swimmer Kevin Nead appears on the All-District III first team for the second consecutive year and now advances to the national ballot. The national team will be announced June 10. Nead owns a 3.97 grade point average and is pursuing a degree in zoology. He is the 2007 and 2008 SEC Swimming & Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a two-time UF Swimming Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He has been selected to the Dean's List six times, the President's List three times and has been awarded the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Fellowship, the William Carleton Scholarship and inducted into the Matthew's Society. As one of the three recipients of the Hughes Medical Institute Research Fellowship, Nead spent six months in Lille, France, in 2007 where he studied the genetics of Type II Diabetes under Dr. Phillippe Froguel, the first most cited Diabetes researcher in the world. Earlier this month, Nead was among the 58 winter-sport recipients of a NCAA postgraduate scholarship.
A four-time All-SEC performer, Nead was a captain of the Gator swim team this season. He is a two-time U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier, three-time NCAA Championship qualifier and a two-time honorable mention All-American. He finished fourth at the 2007 SEC Championships in the 400 individual medley.
Two other Gators appear on District III second teams - senior tennis player Nestor Briceno and sophomore swimmer Gemma Spofforth.
Spofforth repeated as NCAA 200 backstroke champion and added the 100 back title as a sophomore in 2008. She used school-record times to claim both of her 2008 national titles. At the 2008 SEC Championships, Spofforth won the 100 and 200 back and well as the 200 individual medley, setting meet records for each event. She is an 11-time All-American in her two seasons as a Gator. In April, Spofforth qualified to represent Great Britain in the 100 and 200 back at the 2008 Olympic Games. Spofforth owns a 3.39 GPA in physics and has twice been named to the Dean's List. She is a member of the 2008 SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Briceno helped the Gators to a seventh-straight appearance in the NCAA Round of 16 in 2008. He is currently ranked No. 52 in the ITA singles poll and is participating in the NCAA singles draw for the first time in his career. Briceno posted a 3.66 GPA in political science and plans on entering law school in the fall of 2008, where he intends to focus on International Law. He was a first-team All-SEC selection in 2006 and a second-team honoree in 2007. Briceno has been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll twice.
| MEN - District 3 Winners - University Division | |||||
| FIRST TEAM | |||||
| Kevin Nead | Florida | Sr. | Ithaca, N.Y. | 3.97 | Zoology/Pre-Med |
| Barden Berry | North Carolina | Sr. | Kinston, N.C. | 3.88 | Psychology |
| Geoff Handsfield | East Carolina | Sr. | Morehead City, N.C. | 3.97 | Physics |
| Joseph Kapurch | Georgia | Sr. | Dale City, VA | 3.97 | Cellular Biology |
| Ben Rubeor | Virginia | Sr. | Towson, Md. | 3.56 | English |
| Jonas Enander Hedin | Charlotte | Sr. | Taby, Sweden | 3.75 | Business Management (Managerial Leadership) |
| Sandy Franz | South Carolina-Upstate | Sr. | Duesseldorf, Germany | 3.90 | Marketing |
| Max Quinzani | Duke | So. | Duxbury, Mass. | 3.62 | Undeclared |
| Phillip Compeau | Davidson College | Sr. | Wilkesboro, NC | 3.96 | Math |
| Andrew An | Mercer | Sr. | Richmond Hill, Ontario | 3.89 | Accounting |
| Peter Truszkowski | Duke | Jr. | Northfield, Ill. | 3.70 | Biology |
| SECOND TEAM | |||||
| Jurrian van der Vaart | Virginia Tech | Sr. | Almelo, the Netherlands | 3.81 | Environmental Science |
| Markus Leandersson | East Carolina | Jr. | Hvalstad, Norway | 4.0 | Finance |
| Drew Weaver | Virginia Tech | Jr. | High Point, N.C. | 3.21 | Marketing |
| Fletcher Gregory | North Carolina | Sr. | Charlotte, N.C. | 3.68 | History/Business |
| Brian Harman | Georgia | Jr. | Savannah, GA | 3.69 | Finance |
| Alex Israel | Virginia Commonwealth | Sr. | Marseille, France | 3.89 | Marketing |
| Philip Owen | North Carolina | Sr. | Scottsdale, Ariz. | 3.45 | Journalism |
| David Goulet | Duke | Sr. | Quebec, Canada | 3.65 | Economics |
| Nestor Briceno | Florida | Sr. | Pembroke Pines, Fla. | 3.66 | Politicial Science |
| Matt Turner | Virginia Military Institute | Sr. | Franklin, Tenn. | 3.71 | Mechanical Engineering |
| Brendan Gielow | Wake Forest | So. | Muskegon, Mich. | 3.67 | Mathematics/Religion double major |
| WOMEN - District 3 Winners - University Division | |||||
| FIRST TEAM | |||||
| Kristi Miller | Georgia Tech | Sr. | Marysville, Mich. | 4.00 | History, Technology and Society |
| Amanda Blumenherst | Duke | Jr. | Scottsdale, Ariz | 3.78 | History |
| Diana Martinez | South Carolina-Upstate | Sr. | Medellin, Colombia | 4.00 | Economics |
| Karen Guilkey | Georgia | Sr. | Chapel Hill, NC | 3.94 | Exercise and Sport Science |
| Rachel Dawson | North Carolina | Sr. | Berlin, N.J. | 3.63 | Business |
| Jessica Botzum | Virginia Tech | Sr. | Raleigh, N.C. | 3.57 | Biology |
| Cassandra Price | Radford University | Sr. | Chuckey, Tenn. | 4.00 | International Finance and Economics |
| Grace Taylor | Georgia | So. | Aiken, S.C. | 3.98 | Psychology |
| Kelsey Cutchins | James Madison | So. | Suffolk, Va. | 3.91 | Geography |
| Courtney Kupets | Georgia | Jr. | Athens, Ga. | 3.82 | Furnishing and Interiors |
| SECOND TEAM | |||||
| Kara Wright | North Carolina | So. | Virginia Beach, Va. | 3.98 | Journalism |
| Heather Kendell | North Carolina | Sr. | Chapel Hill, N.C. | 3.76 | Biology/Exercise and Sport Science |
| Ashley Shepard | North Carolina State | Jr. | Rock Hill, S.C. | 4.00 | Microbiology |
| Klaudyna Kasztelaniec | William & Mary | Jr. | Krakow, Poland | 3.95 | Economics |
| Gemma Spofforth | Florida | So. | West Sussex, England | 3.39 | Physics |
| Laura Gioia | Furman | Jr. | Tampa, Fla. | 3.82 | Health & Exercise Science |
| Hannah Priest | East Carolina | Sr. | Carthage, N.C. | 3.98 | Physical Education |
| Mateja Podgorsek | Georgia State | Sr. | Domzale, Slovenia | 3.98 | Accounting and Finance |
| Caroline Westrup | Florida State | Jr. | Ahus, Sweden | 3.69 | Sport Management |
| Viktoria Konstantinova | Virginia Commonwealth | Sr. | Hanskovo, Bulgaria | 3.97 | Business Management |
| Sara Smith | Virginia Tech | Jr. | McGaheysville, Va. | 3.83 | Biology |
