SPORTS
Summa Cum Laude Graduates League and Tenpas Named Academic All-Americans
AUSTIN, Texas – Davidson’s Nathan Tenpas (Men’s Golf) and Riley League (Men’s Swimming & Diving) have been selected to the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-America® Division I Men’s At-Large team, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Thursday.
The 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-America® Men’s At-Large teams, selected by CoSIDA, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field/course and in the classroom.
Tenpas and League are the 31st and 32nd Academic All-America selections in school history, while becoming the first for their respective sports. In addition, it marks just the sixth time two or more Wildcats have been selected in the same academic year. Davidson and the University of Alabama were the only schools to place more than one student-athlete on the first team, and Davidson was the only school with multiple sports represented on the first team.
No less than 38 of the 45 members of the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-America® Division I Men’s At-Large Team have at least a 3.90 GPA, with 27 student-athletes maintaining a 4.00 GPA (or better) as either undergraduate or graduate students. The 17 members of the first team (which was expanded due to ties in the voting) have an average GPA of 4.01.
Nathan Tenpas
Men’s Golf
Nathan Tenpas, Davidson College Class of 2018, graduated Summa Cum Laude with High Honors in Mathematics. He shared First Honors with Riley League. Tenpas played golf on the Men’s Golf Team.
A native of Chevy Chase, Md., Tenpas has received a number of academic awards during his four-year career, including the 2018 William Gillespie McGavock Mathematics Award, the 2016 William D. Vinson Mathematics Award, and 2015 Alumni Association Award, given annually for the top-academic average during the first-year of study.
“I’m very proud of Nathan,” said Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year Tim Straub. “To manage the time demands of Division I golf and be valedictorian is just amazing. He has truly earned this prestigious honor.”
“I’m very excited to receive this award because of all the effort that went into both school and golf throughout my time at Davidson,” Tenpas commented. “I’ll always be thankful to Davidson, and Coach Straub in particular, for providing me such a unique opportunity to blend high level athletics and academics.”
In addition to being tied for the best GPA in the Class of 2018 with League, Tenpas is one of eight seniors a part of Phi Beta Kappa.
On the course, Tenpas worked his way into the lineup late last season after battling an injury as a freshman and sophomore. In 10 career events, he posted a 77.82 career stroke average, highlighted by an even-par 71 at the Marshall Invitational.
A member of the Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll all four years, Tenpas was voted to the league’s All-Academic team in May.
Davidson won the 2018 Atlantic 10 Men’s Golf Championship, the program’s first league title in 50 years.
Riley League
Men’s Swimming and Diving
A product of Rock Hill, S.C., League was one of six swimmers named to the 2018 Academic All-America squad. A double major in economics and philosophy, he was a finalist in three individual events at the 2018 Atlantic 10 Championships, setting a new program record in the 100 breast (55.12). League served as a two-year captain and ranks second in school history in the 200 fly and third in the 200 IM.
Riley League, Davidson College Class of 2018, graduated Summa Cum Laude with High Honors in Philosophy. He shared First Honors with Nathan Tenpas. League was a swimmer on the Men’s Swimming & Diving Team.
“I am thrilled to see Riley recognized, again, for his significant academic accomplishments,” head coach John Young said. “The amount of energy that he brought to Cannon Pool was impressive and I am grateful for his willingness to bring effort to the task of doing things well as a member of our team. The fact that he also approached his studies with energy to match their rigor, and found time to enrich his community, reflects his astounding capacity for achievement. Academic All-American is a great honor, and a well-deserved one.”
“The amazing thing about Davidson is that you are taught to pursue excellence in every area of your life. Only there can a student-athlete combine Division I athletics with an elite liberal arts education, and I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given to strive at the highest level in the pool and in the classroom,” League said of his honor.
A 2017 Academic All-District selection, League was a Bryan Scholar and also devoted time as a research fellow at the Vann Center for Economics and as a teaching assistant in the Davidson Economics Department. He was also recently named the 2018 Thomas D. Sparrow award winner, given to the top Davidson male athlete focusing on academics, leadership, and athletic success.
Another four-year member of the Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll, League is a three-time All-Academic team selection and will be continuing his education this fall, pursuing a doctorate degree in Economics at Duke University.