May 31, 2006

BERKELEY, CALIF. - Cal's national champion women's crew placed two rowers - seniors Kaylan Vander Schilden and Erin Cafaro - on the College Rowing Coaches Association first team All-America squad, the CRCA announced today. The Bears also had two athletes - junior Jelena Djukic and freshman Krista Ellis (coxswain) - on the CRCA second team All-America Squad.

The awards, presented by Pocock, recognize the outstanding accomplishments of female rowers and coxswains for the spring season. Forty-two student-athletes were honored, 20 first-team selections and 22 second-team selections. Nine schools had multiple selections, led by Princeton and California with four apiece. Brown and Notre Dame each had three All-America selections (first or second team).

Twenty-three of the 42 student-athletes were participants at the NCAA Championships last weekend, including 16 of the 20 first-team selections. The national champion Golden Bears produced two first-team All-Americans and two second-team All-Americans. Princeton had four first-team All-America selections this season.

The West Region produced the most All-America selections with 13, including five first-team honorees. The New England Region also produced five first-team All-America selections. The Central Region produced the second-most All-Americans with 10 total.

California finished second in all three of its grand finals last Sunday, enough to propel the Bears to their second consecutive NCAA team title. The strong performances earned Cal 66 points in the team competition, the same total as Brown; with a higher position in the varsity eight race, Cal was awarded the championship.

2006 Pocock First-Team All-America Selections
Deborah Dryer           Brown
Gillian Almy            Brown
Kaylan Vander Schilden  California
Erin Cafaro             California
Sarah Cooper            Clemson
Kate Davison            Dartmouth
Christen Brown          Michigan State
Jennifer Barnes         Minnesota
Amanda Polk             Notre Dame
Ninett Kossowsky        Ohio State
Caroline Lind           Princeton
Devan Darby             Princeton
Jaqueline Zider         Princeton
Elizabeth Agnew         Princeton (coxswain)
Ligita Kaviere          Southern California
Heather Gardner         Virginia
Megan Kalmoe            Washington
Sarah Waterfield        Washington State
Rachel Jeffers          Yale
Maria Stevens           Yale
2005 Pocock Second-Team All-America Selections
Rachel Dearborn         Brown
Jelena Djukic           California
Krista Ellis            California (coxswain)
Krystina Sarff          Central Florida
Lia Hart                Duke
Kate Austin             George Washington
Laura Lazaridis         Indiana
Liz Stewart             Loyola Marymount
Ellen Tomek             Michigan
Katherine Glessner      Northeastern
Julie Sobolewski        Notre Dame
Sarah Palandech         Notre Dame
Annabelle Fago          Ohio State
Caroline Leibinger      Oregon State
Ashley Luther           Southern Methodist
Susan BeVille           Stanford
Erin-Monique Shelton    Tennessee
Vanessa Teff            UCLA
Tatiana Boldyreva       Southern California
Melanie Kok             Virginia
Jody Thomas             Washington State
Kirby Gallie            Wisconsin