Nov. 29, 2005

WALTHAM, Mass. - Senior defender Cristina Egnell (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) became just the second student-athlete in Bemidji State University athletic history to be named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America First Team selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

Egnell, who just completed her four-year stint with the Bemidji State soccer program, left her mark in the BSU record books starting all 81 games of her career. She was part of a defense that set school records in goals against in each of the last three seasons. After giving up just 1.89 in 2003 and 1.74 goals per game in 2004, this year’s defensive unit held opponents to 0.89.

This year’s squad also set a school record for wins in a season with 12. It marked the fourth straight season that the soccer program has set a single season wins record.

En route to being named First-Team Academic All-America, Egnell was named First-Team Academic All-District V in late October It marked her second consecutive All-District laurel; she was a third-team selection in 2004. Egnell was joined by teammate Erin Foss (Sr.; Bismarck, N.D.) on this years All-District first team.

The Academic All-America Teams are selected by a vote of the 2,000-member CoSIDA. To be eligible, an athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 on a scale of 4.00. Sports information directors nominate eligible athletes from their schools, who are then voted onto the all-district teams. First-Team All-District honorees advance to the All-America ballot. The program honors 816 student-athletes nation wide each year, and since the program’s inception in 1952 nearly 16,000 have been named to Academic All-America teams.

Egnell’s honor gives Bemidji State 11 Academic All-America awards in its history, and Egnell is the first BSU women’s soccer player to be honored. Men’s basketball player Steve Vogel was named Academic All-America in three consecutive years from 1976-78; men’s hockey player James Karner was honored in 1994, along with Peter Jonsson being named in the spring of 2005; softball’s Abby Stritesky was honored in 2000; Anik Cote from women’s hockey was recognized in 2002; men’s basketball player Royce Bryan was honored in 2003; and in 2004 both Phil McCollam (track & field) and Kristin Smith (volleyball) were honored.

Egnell’s honor marks the fifth consecutive year Bemidji State has had at least one student athlete named Academic All-America.

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