GRANVILLE, Ohio-- Denison University swimmers KT Kustritz and Bebe Wang were named the Academic All-America Team Members of the Year for the NCAA Division III At-Large contest as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Kustritz and Wang were both named first-team Academic All-America selections and were voted Academic All-America Team Members of the Year out of a field of the nation's elite scholar-athletes. This marks the second consecutive Academic All-America Team Member of the Year award for Wang and the first for Kustritz.
Denison's history with the CoSIDA Academic All-America program has been successful and long-standing. The University garnered its first Academic All-America winner in 1967 and since then 103 Denison student-athletes have been honored, ranking the college among the elite in Division III. This marks the sixth and seventh time a Denison student-athlete has taken home the coveted Academic All-America Team Member of the Year honor. Kustritz and Wang, Denison's only two-time winner, join swimming alumni Kristen Hohl '09, Kristin Goldthorpe '97, and Elaine Binkley '07 (XC/Track & Field) and Grant Jones (Football) as Academic All-America Team Members of the Year.
"Bebe and KT leave Denison and our swimming program as two of the most celebrated and accomplished scholar-athletes in school history. Their exemplary and long-standing successes in the classroom and the pool reflect their superior work ethic, vivid imagination, and an unrelenting commitment to personal growth and excellence," said head men's and women's swimming coach Gregg Parini.
Kustritz is a five-time national champion and 27-time All-American. She leaves Denison as one of the most decorated and accomplished student-athletes in school history, across all sports. Kustritz is the national record-holder in the 100 breaststroke and is a 22-time North Coast Athletic Conference Champion. Kustritz qualified for the 2020 US Olympic Trials in the 100 breaststroke and competed in the 2019 Phillips 66 National Championships. She owns seven Denison varsity records and is also a three-time College Swimming Coaches Association of America Scholar All-America selection. In 2017 she was named the NCAC Newcomer of the Year and in 2019 she was voted the NCAC Swimmer of the Year. Kustritz was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America second team in 2018 and 2019 and first-team in 2020. The St. Paul, Minnesota native graduated in May with a BA in health, exercise, and sport studies.
Wang is Denison's first two-time Academic All-America Team Member of the Year. He also leaves Granville as one of the most decorated student-athletes in the history of the swimming & diving program. Wang was awarded the prestigious $10,000 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship in May. A five-time national champion and 15-time All-American, Wang was heading into this year's NCAA Championship with the nation's fastest time in the 200 IM and the third-fastest time in the 200 freestyle. In April, he received the North Coast Athletic Conference Male Scholar-Athlete Award from Denison. A three-time CSCAA Scholar All-America selection, Wang recently received his BA in physics.
Created in 1952 by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), the Academic All-America® program is a premier, nationwide college scholar-athlete awards program. It recognizes over 1,400 outstanding student-athletes annually in Division I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.
