by Tony Thai, SDA Student Communications Intern
Sun Devil Athletics is nominating eight student-athletes from six different sports for CoSIDA Academic All-America At-Large honors.
Jessica Ginn (gymnastics), Roberta Liti (women's golf), Olivia Mehaffey (women's golf) and Maud Koopman (water polo) are the four women student-athletes Arizona State have chosen to nominate. On the men's side, Youssef Selim (men's swimming and diving), Tanner Hall (wrestling), Dylan Hollman (hockey) and Anthony Croston (hockey) round out the eight student-athletes nominated for this award.
Ginn was part of the 2018 Arizona State women's gymnastics team that finished the season ranked No. 23 in the nation. This season was filled with career-highs for Ginn, tying a previous record in vault (9.825) on two separate occasions. She also achieved a new career-high on floor (9.850) vs. Arizona on Feb. 23 and then tied that record again a week later on March 3 against Minnesota. By virtue of her academic excellence, Ginn was one of four Gym Devils named to the 2018 Pac-12 All-Academic first team.
Liti is no stranger to academic honors, being named the 2018 Pac-12 Women's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Liti was also named as the Pac-12 First Team All-Academic and WGCA All-American Scholar her junior and sophomore seasons. Liti started off this season strong, finishing in the top-10 in the first tournament of the season, the Mason Rudolph Women's Championship. She placed in the top-20 four more times throughout the season.
After ranking 10th in Women's Amateur Golf Rankings to start the season, Mehaffey followed up with multiple top-10 finishes throughout the season, including a tie for 2nd at East Lake Cup. Mehaffey won her first collegiate tournament and earned co-medalist honors at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge. She finished the season placing T-5th at the Pac-12 Championships and named First Team All-Conference.
Koopman was the leading goal scorer (42) during the 2017-2018 season. She scored 3+ goals seven times this season, another team-high. Koopman tied with two other players for multiple-goal games (12). In a game versus the #11 SJSU, Koopman tallied eight points, which tied for fourth in the most points scored in a single game by a Sun Devil.
After finishing second in the 1-meter dive at the Pac-12 Championships a year before, Selim came back in 2018 to become the Pac-12 1-Meter Champion. He also finished third in platform dive at the Pac-12 Championship. Selim earned Pac-12 All-Academic First Team honors and named SDA Men's Highest Achieving Student-Athlete from the Office of Student-Athlete Development.
Hall was part of the No. 9 ranked Arizona State wrestling team. He was ranked No. 3 in three preseason polls to start his junior year. Hall placed second at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and at the Midlands Championships. He took third place at the Pac-12 Championships and qualified for the NCAA Championships. Hall was named Pac-12 First Team All-Academic and NWCA All-Academic.
In his second year as the captain of the hockey team, Hollman scored three goals and assisted four in the 33 games he played. He put up four points in three straight games from Oct. 6 to Oct. 13 with a goal and three assists. This was his second season at ASU after transferring from UMass-Lowell.
Croston finished the season with six goals and nine assists. He assisted two goals against Michigan Tech in the Sun Devils' Ice Vegas Invitational championship win. Croston was part of the captain's line that scored 16 of the team's 58 points. Last season, Croston lead the team in goals (10), tied for the lead in points (21) and scored the program's first hat trick.
Sun Devil Athletics is nominating eight student-athletes from six different sports for CoSIDA Academic All-America At-Large honors.
Jessica Ginn (gymnastics), Roberta Liti (women's golf), Olivia Mehaffey (women's golf) and Maud Koopman (water polo) are the four women student-athletes Arizona State have chosen to nominate. On the men's side, Youssef Selim (men's swimming and diving), Tanner Hall (wrestling), Dylan Hollman (hockey) and Anthony Croston (hockey) round out the eight student-athletes nominated for this award.
Ginn was part of the 2018 Arizona State women's gymnastics team that finished the season ranked No. 23 in the nation. This season was filled with career-highs for Ginn, tying a previous record in vault (9.825) on two separate occasions. She also achieved a new career-high on floor (9.850) vs. Arizona on Feb. 23 and then tied that record again a week later on March 3 against Minnesota. By virtue of her academic excellence, Ginn was one of four Gym Devils named to the 2018 Pac-12 All-Academic first team.
The #GymDevils have placed a program-best nine student-athletes on Pac-12 All-Academic teams, spearheaded by this group of #SmartyDevils????#SunDevilPower #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/7RF691z4tO
— Sun Devil Gymnastics (@SunDevilGym) March 29, 2018
Liti is no stranger to academic honors, being named the 2018 Pac-12 Women's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Liti was also named as the Pac-12 First Team All-Academic and WGCA All-American Scholar her junior and sophomore seasons. Liti started off this season strong, finishing in the top-10 in the first tournament of the season, the Mason Rudolph Women's Championship. She placed in the top-20 four more times throughout the season.
"It was very exciting for me. It's been a goal of mine since my freshman year when my teammate Noemi [Jimenez] won it." - @RobiLiti on being named #Pac12Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year. pic.twitter.com/fO2LQiR6bd
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) April 24, 2018
After ranking 10th in Women's Amateur Golf Rankings to start the season, Mehaffey followed up with multiple top-10 finishes throughout the season, including a tie for 2nd at East Lake Cup. Mehaffey won her first collegiate tournament and earned co-medalist honors at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge. She finished the season placing T-5th at the Pac-12 Championships and named First Team All-Conference.
?????? to @OliviaMehaffey for making her second @CurtisCup team?#SunDevilTradition https://t.co/gYa4QyMbe8 pic.twitter.com/G9tbD7ecNC
— Sun Devil W. Golf (@SunDevilWGolf) April 26, 2018
Koopman was the leading goal scorer (42) during the 2017-2018 season. She scored 3+ goals seven times this season, another team-high. Koopman tied with two other players for multiple-goal games (12). In a game versus the #11 SJSU, Koopman tallied eight points, which tied for fourth in the most points scored in a single game by a Sun Devil.
After finishing second in the 1-meter dive at the Pac-12 Championships a year before, Selim came back in 2018 to become the Pac-12 1-Meter Champion. He also finished third in platform dive at the Pac-12 Championship. Selim earned Pac-12 All-Academic First Team honors and named SDA Men's Highest Achieving Student-Athlete from the Office of Student-Athlete Development.
Youssef Selim is the Pac-12 Men's Diver of the Meet! #ForksUp #SunDevilMomentum #Pac12Dive pic.twitter.com/zY6YCqo42w
— Sun Devil Swim/Dive (@ASUSwimDive) February 25, 2018
Hall was part of the No. 9 ranked Arizona State wrestling team. He was ranked No. 3 in three preseason polls to start his junior year. Hall placed second at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and at the Midlands Championships. He took third place at the Pac-12 Championships and qualified for the NCAA Championships. Hall was named Pac-12 First Team All-Academic and NWCA All-Academic.
ICYMI — Tanner Hall is set to face off against 2012 Olympic gold medalist ?? Jake Varner in tonight's US Open semifinals!
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) April 28, 2018
Tune in ?? @FloWrestling #SunDevilIntensity ?? pic.twitter.com/XkgwwFAxJM
In his second year as the captain of the hockey team, Hollman scored three goals and assisted four in the 33 games he played. He put up four points in three straight games from Oct. 6 to Oct. 13 with a goal and three assists. This was his second season at ASU after transferring from UMass-Lowell.
Croston finished the season with six goals and nine assists. He assisted two goals against Michigan Tech in the Sun Devils' Ice Vegas Invitational championship win. Croston was part of the captain's line that scored 16 of the team's 58 points. Last season, Croston lead the team in goals (10), tied for the lead in points (21) and scored the program's first hat trick.