BERKELEY – Reigning NCAA Swimmers of the Year Missy Franklin and Ryan Murphy, as well as junior swimmer Rachael Acker, have been named to the 2015 Capital One Academic All-America® Men’s and Women’s at-large teams, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Franklin was chosen the women’s Academic All-American of the Year for the at-large division, while Murphy and Acker were voted to the second team.
Franklin becomes the second Golden Bear to be chosen the at-large Academic All-American of the Year, joining 1992 recipient and gymnast Sigall Kassutto.
“I’m extremely honored to be selected as the Academic All-American of the Year for the women’s at-large program,” Franklin said. “As a student-athlete, I’ve found that the tools I use to succeed in the pool have also served me well in the classroom. I’m lucky to attend a university where strength in academics is celebrated throughout the student body, and I’m honored to receive this recognition alongside two other Cal Berkeley swimmers, Rachael Acker and Ryan Murphy, who were named second-team Academic All-Americans.”
The at-large teams for the Capital One Academic All-America® program include student-athletes from the sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming & diving, tennis and water polo for both men and women, as well as bowling, crew and field hockey for women, and volleyball and wrestling for men.
The 2015 NCAA and Pac-12 Swimmer of the Year and 2015 Honda Award recipient as the top female swimmer in the country, Franklin has a 3.58 GPA in psychology. The sophomore won three individual events at the NCAA meet – the 200 free (in an American-record 1:39.10), 200 backstroke and 200 individual medley – leading Cal to the national team title. Franklin was also a part of two NCAA champion relays and swam anchor on the 800 free relay that established an American record at the 2015 Pac-12 Championships.
Acker, a junior who earned all third-team Academic All-America honors last year, owns a 3.95 GPA as a French major and is on a pre-med track. She is a two-time first-team Pac-12 All-Academic choice, as well as swim coaches association Scholar All-American. This past year, she placed 15th in the 200-yard freestyle at the 2015 NCAA Championships and also earned All-American honors on the 400 free relay.
Acker is the fifth Golden Bear to become a two-time Academic All-American. Men’s basketball’s Neil Ernst in 1970 and ’71 was the first, with the others being Sylvie Monnet (volleyball, 1982-83), Dave Butler (basketball, 1986-87) and Nathan Adrian (swimming, 2010-11).
Murphy also earned Pac-12 Men’s Swimmer of the Year honors in addition to his NCAA recognition after helping the Bears to a national runner-up finish. The sophomore has a 3.78 GPA as an undeclared major. He is a two-time NCAA champion in the 100 and 200 back. Murphy set an NCAA record of 44.17 in the 100 back leading off the Bears’ 400 medley relay and was timed in 1:37.77 in the 200 back, breaking Ryan Lochte’s nearly eight-year-old American record in the event.
Click here for the complete list of Academic All-Americans.
