Artz, Ransford Named to CoSIDA Academic All-America Teams
6/8/2017 12:00:00 AM | General, Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Gymnastics, Academic Success Program
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced the 2017 Academic All-America Division I Men's and Women's At-Large teams on Thursday (June 8) with men's swimmer PJ Ransford and women's gymnast Nicole Artz being selected from the University of Michigan.
Ransford was the only swimmer from the Big Ten to make the first team on the men's side and joins Connor Jaeger (2014, first team; 2013, second team) as the only two-time honorees for the U-M men's swimming and diving team. The program has six Academic All-Americans in its history. Ransford is an Academic All-American for the second consecutive year after earning second team honors last year as a sophomore.
A junior from Pittsford, New York, Ransford was the recipient of the 2017 Elite 90 Award for men's swimming and diving, given annually to the competing student-athlete with the highest grade-point average at the NCAA Championships. Ransford finished sixth in the 1,650-yard freestyle at March's NCAA Championships, reaching the podium for the second time in his career. He also had three top-six individual finishes at the Big Ten Championships in February. Majoring in mechanical engineering, Ransford was recognized as one of 12 winter honorees in the entire Big Ten Conference to have maintained a 4.0 cumulative GPA.
Artz also earned Academic All-America honors for the second straight season, making the second team on the women's side this year after earning third team honors a year ago. She is one of only five U-M women's gymnasts to earn the honor and joins Beth Amelkovich (1999, first team; 1997, third team) as the only two-time honorees.
A senior from Holland, Michigan, Artz received the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 2017, the most prestigious honor given to a Michigan student-athlete. She earned second team All-America honors on uneven bars and floor exercise and was a finalist for the AAI Award. She was selected as the 2017 Big Ten and Northeast Region Gymnast of the Year and was on the All-Big Ten first team. She was the Big Ten all-around champion and the NCAA Regional beam champion while serving as a team captain for the second straight season. Majoring in elementary education, Artz was also an Academic All-Big Ten selection.
Ransford and Artz are the first two Academic All-Americans for the Wolverines in 2016-17 and give the school 131 all-time honorees.
Players Mentioned
