May 23, 2008
Notre Dame, Ind. – Five Notre Dame student-athletes have been selected to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic all-District Five At-Large team in voting done by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) for the 2007-08 school year with three named to the men’s team and two to the women’s squad.
Two of the athletes – women’s fencer Adrienne Nott (Jr. Pittsford, N.Y.) and hockey goaltender Jordan Pearce (Jr., Anchorage, Alaska) – were first team all-District choices and move to the national ballot for Academic All-American honors that will be announced in June. Selected to the second team on the District Five At-Large men’s team were hockey players Erik Condra (Jr., Livonia, Mich.) and Mark Van Guilder (Sr., Roseville, Minn.). Women’s lacrosse standout Caitlin McKinney (Sr., Lafayette Hill, Pa.) was a second team choice on the women’s side.
The at-large program includes women’s bowling, women’s crew, men’s and women’s fencing, women’s field hockey, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s gymnastics, men’s and women’s ice hockey, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s rifle, men’s and women’s skiing, men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s volleyball, men’s and women’s water polo and men’s wrestling.
Nominations for the at-large teams are limited to three student-athletes per school per gender. Thus, each institution may nominate a total of three men’s at-large candidates and three women’s at-large candidates. There is no limit to the number of candidates that may be nominated for a particular sport.
Voting is done by the College Sports Information Directors of America with 10 players chosen to the first and second teams in each district with the 10 first team selections moving to the national ballot.
McKinney was the lone second team selection to the women’s at-large team. A two-time team captain, she finished second on the team in scoring with 38 goals and 25 assists for 63 points. A four-time all-BIG EAST selection, she was named the conference’s midfielder of the year and was a unanimous first team all-BIG EAST selection for the third consecutive season. McKinney finished her career as Notre Dame’s all-time assist leader with 80 and is second in points (232) and third in goals (152). A finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy, McKinney has been selected All-American twice in her career – third team as a sophomore and second team as a junior in 2007. She is a candidate again this year for All-American honors as she was selected to the IWLCA first team all-West/Midwest Region squad. A BIG EAST Aeropostale Scholar-Athlete Award winner in 2007-08, the speedy midfielder was the winner of Notre Dame’s Francis Patrick O’Connor Award that goes to the senior student-athlete who best exemplifies the true spirit of Notre Dame.
Off the field, McKinney graduated from Notre Dame with a 3.51 grade-point average and a double major in Sociology/Film, Television and Theatre. A two-time member of the Dean’s List, she was also selected to the 2007 IWLCA Academic All-Star Team.
She was joined on the women’s team by Nott who advances to the national ballot on the women’s at-large team as a three-time All-American in the women’s foil, taking first team honors in 2007 and 2008. A three-time all-Midwest Fencing Conference selection, she won conference and NCAA Midwest Regional titles in the foil in 2007. For her career, has finished fourth (2008), third (2007) and sixth (2006) and the NCAA championships. A team co-captain this past year, Nott is a two-time team Most Valuable Player in the foil. She was also a member of the U.S. Junior National Team in 2006.
Nott owns a 3.731 grade-point average with a double major in psychology and Japanese. She is a member of Notre Dame’s Academic Honors program.
Pearce turned in one of the best years ever by a Notre Dame goaltender as he led the Irish to the NCAA Frozen Four and the national championship game. For the year, Pearce played in 43 of the team’s 47 games, going 23-15-4 overall with a 2.04 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage and two shutouts. He won the CCHA’s top goaltender award with a 1.80 goals-against average in league games. Notre Dame’s CCHA scholar-athlete award winner, Pearce also won the school’s Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley Rockne Scholar-Athlete Award and was the team’s Most Valuable Player. For the year, he set school records for games (43) and minutes played (2,557:46). He is Notre Dame’s all-time leader in goals-against average (2.21), third in save percentage (.908) and third in shutouts (4).
Off the ice, Pearce is an anthropology/Pre-Med major with a 3.80 grade-point average. He has been selected to the Dean’s List in three of his first five semesters at Notre Dame and is a member of Notre Dame’s Academic Honors Program. He is the first Irish hockey player to make it to the national ballot since David Inman `02 and follows David Brown `07, who was a second team selection last season.
Condra and Van Guilder join Pearce as members of the hockey team selected to the District Five at-large team as second team selections.
Condra led the team in scoring for the third consecutive season in `07-’08, scoring 15 goals with 23 assists for 38 points in 41 games. An alternate captain as a junior, Condra was named the team’s offensive player of the year despite missing the final six games of the year due to a knee injury. He finished third on the team with six power-play goals, led the squad with three short-handed tallies and was second with four game winners. Condra was selected to the all-tournament teams at the Rensselaer Holiday Tourney and the Lightning College Hockey Classic. For his career, he ranks 33rd on the all-time points list with 35 goals and 85 assists for 120 career points.
Like Pearce, Condra is a double major with his being psychology/Pre-Med and he has a 3.56 cumulative grade-point average.
Van Guilder served as team captain of the Irish in 2007-08 and finished the year third in scoring with 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points while helping Notre Dame to its first-ever trip to the NCAA Frozen Four. A Hobey Baker Award candidate in `06-’07 and `07-’08, Van Guilder was a finalist for the Lowes Senior CLASS Award. He scored the winning goal in the NCAA West Regional versus Michigan State that sent the Irish to the Frozen Four, picking up all-tournament team and most valuable player honors for the NCAA West Regionals. The hard-working right wing finished his career as Notre Dame’s all-time “Iron Man” as he never missed a game in his career, finishing with 163 consecutive games played in his career.
In the classroom, Van Guilder had a 3.35 grade-point average with a major in Sociology. He was selected to the Dean’s List twice during his Notre Dame academic career.