Alabama Athletics Leads the Nation With Six Academic All-America At-Large Honors
8/6/2021 1:57:00 PM | General, Rowing, Women's Tennis, Swimming & Diving
Swimmers Cade Auerbach, Morgan Liberto, Derek Maas and Nicholas Perera, along with women’s tennis player Alba Cortina Pou and rowing’s Izzie Gonzales earned a place on the CoSIDA Academic All-America At-Large Teams
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama Athletics leads the nation with six Crimson Tide student-athletes earning a place on the 2020-21 CoSIDA Academic All-America At-Large Teams, the College Sports Information Directors Association announced Friday.
Swimmers Cade Auerbach, Derek Maas and Nicholas Perera earned spots on the men's team, while tennis player Alba Cortina Pou, rower Izzie Gonzales and swimmer Morgan Liberto earned the honor for the women.
In addition to leading the nation with six at-large selections this season, Alabama also tallied the most first-team accolades with three. The Tide was the only Southeastern Conference team to place more than three student-athletes on the at-large team this season. Cortina Pou, earning All-America honors for the second time, Maas and Perera earned first team recognition while Auerbach and Liberto made the second team and Gonzales earned third-team recognition.
Unlike the other Academic All-America teams which represent a single sport, the at-large program spans several men's and women's sports. The women's at-large team includes beach volleyball, bowling, rowing, field hockey, fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis and water polo, while the men include fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis, water polo, volleyball and wrestling.
For the women, Cortina Pou earned her undergraduate degree in finance and marketing with a 4.0 grade point average and maintains a 4.0 GPA while pursuing her MBA. Gonzales carries a 4.0 in political science, while Liberto is concurrently pursuing a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's in public administration, through Alabama's Accelerated Masters Program, maintaining a 4.0 GPA in both courses of study.
On the men's side, Auerbach carries a 4.0 GPA while pursuing a double major in finance and economics. Maas, an All-American, holds a 4.0 GPA in biology on the premed track. Perera, an All-American, maintains a 4.0 GPA in mechanical engineering.
Inside the Numbers
- With the Tide's six at-large honors, Alabama has garnered 204 Academic All-America accolades, ranking fifth all-time in NCAA Division I
- Since nominations for the at-large team went from a maximum of three men and three women to four of each in 2014, Alabama leads the nation with 42 honors, a dozen better than the next-highest total
- The Alabama men's swimming and diving program has been particularly prolific in terms of Academic All-Americans over the past seven years, with 12 swimmers earning 20 honors, nearly doubling what any other school has on the at-large team over that span for all sports combined
- Overall, 23 members of the men's and women's swimming and diving squads have earned a spot on the at-large team 33 times
- Cortina Pou is the ninth member of the women's tennis program to earn Academic All-America honors, coming away with its 13th honor overall
- In all, Alabama student-athletes have earned a place on the Academic All-America At-Large team 88 times since making their first appearance in 1986
- Gonzales is the second Alabama rower to earn a place on the Academic All-America At-Large team, joining Raien Emery (2019)
- With six making the at-large team, a total of 12 Alabama student-athletes have already earned Academic All-America honors during the 2020-21 academic year, with Auerbach, Cortina Pou, Gonzales, Liberto, Maas and Perera joining Landon Dickerson (football), Montana Fouts (softball), Bailey Hemphill (softball), Mac Jones (football), Alexis Mack (softball) and Kaylee Tow (softball).
- The Crimson Tide also has six student-athletes on the track and field/cross country Academic All-America ballot, which will be announced later this month.
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Players Mentioned
