Tannenbaum Garners Third Academic All-America Accolade
6/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Fifth-year senior Eric Tannenbaum(Naperville, Ill./North HS) of the University of Michigan wrestling team was named to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America at-large first team, announced Tuesday (June 10) by the College Sports Information Directors Association of America (CoSIDA). It is the third straight Academic All-America selection for the Wolverine wrestler, adding to his previous awards in 2006 (second team) and 2007 (first team).
Tannenbaum, a neuroscience major with who will enter the University of Michigan Medical School this fall, is just the fifth Michigan student-athlete to earn three or more Academic All-America honors in the 56-year history of the award. He is also one of five Wolverines to claim repeat selection to the first team.
The distinction adds to Tannenbaum's lengthy list of academic accolades during his five seasons at Michigan. He earned selection to both the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Academic squad and the Academic-All Big Ten team in each of the last four seasons. The two-time Wolverine captain garnered the U-M Athletic Academic Achievement award in all five years at Michigan.
Tannenbaum became Michigan's sixth four-time All-American in program history after claiming runner-up honors in the 165-pound division at the 2008 NCAA Championships. He captured the second Big Ten individual title of his career two weeks earlier, adding to the 149-pound crown from his rookie campaign (2005). Tannenbaum posted a 35-3 record in 2008 -- a mark that included an impressive 22-2 record in dual-meet competitions -- and ended the season with a career mark of 143-24, placing in the fifth spot among U-M's all-time winningest wrestlers.
Academic All-Americans are selected after a voting process at the district level. Those who are named to all-district first teams advance to the All-America ballot. To be nominated, a student-athlete must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing, be a starter or important reserve with legitimate athletic credentials, and have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA.
CoSIDA has selected Academic All-America teams since 1952. Currently, there are 12 teams named: football, women's volleyball, men's soccer, women's soccer, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, softball, men's track & field/cross country, women's track & field/cross country, men's at-large and women's at-large. A first team, second team and third team are selected in both the University (Division I and I-AA) and College (Division II, III and NAIA) divisions.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
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