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| Bill Gaul |
For the second consecutive year, Bill Gaul has landed the top award on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America team.
Gaul, a senior on the Miner swimming team in the 2006-07 season, was selected as the Academic All-America "Player of the Year" in the at-large category in the College Division on the squad for the second season in succession.
He was a first-team Academic All-America recipient for the second year in a row as well in the program sponsored by the College Sports Information Directors of America. He is one of two UMR swimmers that made this year's Academic All-America team, as fellow senior Andy Shelley was chosen to the third team.
The at-large category covers all sports that do not have a designated team in the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America program, which includes sports such as swimming, tennis and wrestling.
Gaul earned All-America honors this season as part of the Miners’ 200-yard medley relay team that finished sixth at the NCAA Division II Championships and earned 11 All-America awards in his four seasons with the Miner program.
He finished among the top 16 in the nation in the two breaststroke events at the national meet in 2006 and was also part of the Miners' 200-yard medley relay team that placed sixth. He was also a 2005 selection to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second team.
Gaul, a native of West Des Moines, Iowa, received his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering at UMR's May commencement ceremony.
Shelley, who also made the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America team in 2005 as a second-team selection, was part of the Miners’ 800-yard freestyle relay team that placed fourth at this year’s national meet. He has earned five All-America awards during his career as a Miner and was a consistent scorer for the Miners at meets throughout the last four seasons.
Shelley, a native of Katy, Texas, also received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at the May commencement.
Last month, Gaul and Shelley were named as recipients of NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarships worth $7,500 towards graduate school work. Both individuals were selected to the College Swimming Coaches Association of America’s all-academic team, where the Miners as a team have been the top-ranked team in NCAA Division II throughout that span.
It is the third time in the last four seasons that a UMR swimmer has earned the top academic award on the ESPN The Magazine team. Jack Pennuto was the recipient of the 2004 award before Gaul earned the 2006 and 2007 honors.
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