Oct. 22, 2012
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) has named its 2012 All-Academic Sailing Team on Monday. Departed seniors Emily Reich and Jessica Milligan along with current senior co-captain Dillon Paiva were honored for Old Dominion University.
Reich (Oak Bluffs, Mass./Martha’s Vineyard Regional) was named to the first team all-academic squad after she posted a GPA of 3.86 and graduated in May with a degree in recreation and tourism studies. Reich was named ICSA Crew All-American in June after helping to lead the Old Dominion coed sailing team to a national top-15 ranking last season and was a large contributor on and off the water to Monarch sailing. Sailing in A or B division races in each of her last three seasons, she helped ODU earn a fourth consecutive bid to the ICSA Dingy/Gill National Championship last season after earning fifth place in the ICSA Semifinals in Annapolis in May. Reich also spearheaded the Polar Plunge project in Virginia Beach that ODU participated in back in February to help raise over $2,000 for the Special Olympics in Virginia.
Milligan (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) was named to the second team all-academic squad after she posted a GPA of 3.91 and graduated in May with a degree in exercise science. A key cog as a crew member for the Lady Monarchs, Milligan participated in over 18 races in her career at ODU.
Paiva (Raleigh, N.C./Leesville) was named to the ICSA All-Conference All-Academic team after posting excelling his junior year on the water and in the classroom. He is an English major at ODU and slated to graduate in May 2013. The senior skipper has been a key leader for Old Dominion the last two seasons and was named to the U.S. Sailing Development Team in March after training with Navy SEALS in Colorado Springs, Colo. for a week. Paiva has anchored the key A-division races for ODU the last two seasons.
The 2012 All-Academic Sailing Team recognizes collegiate sailors who have achieved excellence in national and inter-conference competition as well as excelling at the highest academic level for the 2011 – 2012 academic year. A nominated sailor must have a minimum of a 3.5 cumulative GPA (on a 4.0 scale), junior or senior academic standing and they must be a key starter or reserve on a school’s sailing team. Each school is allowed three nominations.
The committee can select up to ten scholar athletes for both the First and Second All-Academic Teams. This year, for the first time, the committee has also named an All-Conference Team. This team recognizes other exemplary sailors who are also great representatives, but were not able to be included on the First or Second Teams.
This year’s All-Academic Team is comprised of nine First Team members, ten Second Team members and 16 All-Conference members. “This year's selections are an excellent representation of the achievements on the water and in the classroom. Eight of the team members also received a form of All-American recognition and most were competitive at the highest levels of collegiate sailing competition,” said Matt Lindblad, co-head coach of the MIT Varsity Sailing Team and chairman of the ICSA All-Academic Sailing Team Selection Committee.