Posted: Jun 19, 2019
AUSTIN, Texas - Recent Saint Mary's graduate and tennis alumna Elizabeth Preister was one of 49 women to have earned 2018-19 Google Cloud Academic All-America® Division III At-Large Team recognition. Preister was one of 15 student-athletes named to the Second Team.
One of the Class of 2019 valedictorians, Preister graduated with a cumulative grade point average of 4.00. A communicative sciences and disorders major at Saint Mary's, she was the 2019 recipient of the Department of Athletics' Mary Ellen Smith Academic and Athletic Achievement Award. The award is presented annually for outstanding academic and athletic achievement and future promise as a Saint Mary's graduate. She was an eight-time Dean's List honoree and earned Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Honor Roll distinctions in each of her four years. Boasting 97 combined singles and doubles wins on the tennis court during her career, Preister is the only female student-athlete from the MIAA to be named to a Google Cloud Academic All-America® Division III At-Large Team for the 2018-19 academic year.
The Women's At-Large Team nominations are open to student-athletes who have competed in beach volleyball, bowling, crew/rowing, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming, tennis, and/or water polo.
Preister joins softball players Ashley Peterson '10 and Makenzie Duncan '18 as the only three Saint Mary's student-athletes to earn Google Cloud Academic All-America® recognition from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) to-date.
A student-athlete's performances both in the classroom and in the competitive arena are taken into account for consideration for the honor. To be eligible for Academic All-District® and Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 (on 4.00 scale), have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
CoSIDA began the distinguished Academic All-America program in 1952, and since then, has honored thousands of deserving student-athletes from numerous sports across all divisions with these elite Academic All-America scholar-athlete honors.
Visit the CoSIDA website or download the PDF for the full list of men's and women's 2018-19 Google Cloud Academic All-America® Division III At-Large Teams.