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Nanook senior earns Academic All-America status

February 27, 2012

Marmian Grimes

Jamie Foland
907-474-6807
2/27/12

TOWSON, Md.– University of Alaska Fairbanks redshirt senior Nicole Bozek has been named to the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America Third Team for NCAA Division II women’s basketball, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

“It’s pretty outstanding academically to not only be recognized in your conference, but also nationally for your academic excellence,” head coach Cody Burgess said. “You get this award for excellence on the court and off the court, so we’re really proud of her achievement.”

Bozek, a graduate student who will receive her MBA this spring, graduated a year ago with an undergraduate degree in accounting with a 3.8 cumulative GPA and is only the sixth Nanook and second women’s basketball in Alaska Nanooks history to garner Academic All-America accolades.

On court, she is the GNAC’s third-leading scorer with 16.3 points per game, while ranking third in free throw percentage (.842, 171-203), sixth in blocks (0.8 bpg) and seventh in rebounding (7.7 rpg). Her percentage from the charity stripe ranked 39th in the country, while her scoring average is 68th nationally.

Back on Feb. 2, Bozek was named to the Academic All-District Team for the West Region.

Bozek is joined on the Third Team by Alaska Anchorage’s Hanna Johansson, as the duo became just the fourth and fifth GNAC women’s basketball players all-time to be named to this prestigious list.

On the men’s side, Western Washington’s Rory Blanche was named to the First Team, while Seattle Pacific’s David Downs was a Second Team member, making them the first two GNAC men’s players in league history to make that respective list.

“Nicole shows leadership on and off the court and we’re proud of that,” Burgess said. “We hope that this will influence some of her younger teammates to achieve such a high honor nationally.”

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

Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports. For more information about the Academic All-America Teams program, please visit .

Previous Alaska Nanooks Academic All-Americans:
2010: Dion Knelsen, At-Large Men’s (Hockey)
2009: Trevor Hyatt, At-Large Men’s (Hockey)
2008: Marius Korthauer, At-Large Men’s (Skiing)
2008: Vahur Teppan, At-Large Men’s (Skiing)
1989: Jenny (Lin) Benson, Women’s Basketball