Seven Wolverines Named to CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team
5/20/2022 11:30:00 AM | General, Men's Gymnastics, Ice Hockey, Women's Gymnastics, Women's Swimming & Diving, Water Polo, Wrestling
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Seven University of Michigan student-athletes -- Myles Amine (wrestling) Matty Beniers (ice hockey), Sierra Brooks (women's gymnastics), Paul Juda (men's gymnastics), Maggie MacNeil (swimming), Maddie O'Reilly (water polo) and Natalie Wojcik (women's gymnastics) -- were named to the 2022 Academic All-District Five At-Large first team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Friday (May 20).
At-large sports for the CoSIDA Academic All-America program include fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis and water polo for both men and women, as well as beach volleyball, bowling, field hockey, and rowing for women, and volleyball and wrestling for men.
Amine, who graduated with his master's degree in sport management this spring after previously earning a bachelor's in business administration, garnered CoSIDA Academic All-America second team honors last season and is a five-time Academic All-Big Ten and NWCA Scholar Award recipient. He was the NCAA runner-up at 184 pounds in 2022, becoming the first ever five-time placewinner and All-American at the NCAA Championships, adding to previous top-four finishes at 174 and 197 pounds. Amine captured the 184-pound crown at the Big Ten Championships, all but clinching U-M's first conference team title since 1973, and was named Co-Wrestler of the Championships. He is a two-time Big Ten champion and finished his collegiate career with a 125-23 record, including a 21-2 mark this season. Internationally, Amine captured Olympic bronze at 86kg/189 pounds last August in Tokyo and, less than two weeks after the end of the collegiate season, he claimed his first European championship in Budapest.
Beniers, a sports management major, adds CoSIDA All-District honors to his numerous accolades. The first team All-American and Big Ten scoring champion was a finalist for the Big Ten Player of the Year award and was a unanimous All-Big Ten first team selection. An alternate captain for the Wolverines, Beniers guided the team to the Big Ten Tournament Championship and the Frozen Four. A point-per-game player, Beniers recorded 67 points in 61 career games. The U-M Rookie of the Year last year, Beniers was the second overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. Following the close of the 2021-22 season, he began his NHL career on a five-game point streak, second to just Wayne Gretsky, and had nine points in 10 games.
Brooks, a business administration major in the Ross School of Business, earns her first CoSIDA All-District honor. Brooks was a three-time first team WCGA All-America honoree and a three-time first team WCGA Regular Season All-America honoree in the 2022 season, bringing her career total to six WCGA All-America honors and seven WCGA Regular Season All-America citations. The junior all-arounder was both the Regional Gymnast of the Year and the Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, while earning the Big Ten individual title on the vault with a perfect score. Brooks is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, a two-time WCGA Scholastic All-American and a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, while also serving as the Student Academic Advisory Committee (SAAC) president.
Juda, a psychology major, won a pair of titles at the NCAA Championships, as he took the all-around win with an 85.298 and scored a 15.000 on vault on his way to tying Sam Mikulak's modern-era school record of six All-America honors. He also placed in the top four on high bar (second, 14.566) and parallel bars (fourth, 14.366), and finished eighth on both floor exercise and still rings. The titles were U-M's first all-around title since the 2014 season (Mikulak) and first title overall since Anthony McCallum in 2019 (vault). He also earned Big Ten Gymnast of the Championships, in addition to a Big Ten high bar championship and first team All-Big Ten honors. A current member of the United States Senior National Team, the CoSIDA All-District honor is the first of his career.
MacNeil, who graduated with an undergraduate degree in general studies, earns her second CoSIDA Academic All-District honor. She is a 28-time All-American and collected two bronze medals at the 2022 NCAA Championships. MacNeil also earned a national title in the 100 freestyle and the 100 butterfly at the 2021 NCAA Championships. She is a three-time Big Ten Swimmer of the Championship and was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2019. MacNeil also garnered Michigan's Female Athlete of the Year award in 2020 and earned Academic All-America honors in 2021. She is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, a two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, and an CSCAA Scholar All-American.
O'Reilly, who graduated with her masters degree in management, earns her second CoSIDA Academic All-District honor with the first coming in 2021. This season, O'Reilly was named to the NCAA Tournament second team and earned CWPA Player of the Tournament honors. O'Reilly has guided the Wolverines to four NCAA Championship appearances and four CWPA Championships, while earning ACWPC All-America second team honors and CWPA Player of the Year honors in 2021. O'Reilly is a three-time ACWPC All-Academic team honoree, a three-time CWPA Scholar Athlete and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
Wojcik, who graduated with and undergraduate degreee in Spanish, linguistics and psychology and will return for her fifth year, earns her second CoSIDA All-District honor. The senior all-arounder was the 2022 AAI Award winner, which has been dubbed the Heisman Trophy of women's gymnastics and given annually to the nation's top senior collegiate gymnast. She was a two-time WCGA All-America honoree and a four-time WCGA Regular Season All-America honoree in her senior season, bringing her career total to six WCGA All-America honors and 12 WCGA Regular Season All-America citations. Wojcik earned the individual regional title on the uneven bars and was the Big Ten individual champion on the beam in the 2022 season. Furthermore, Wojcik eclipsed 100 career scores with a 9.900 or better as she ended her senior campaign with 110. Wojcik is a three-time All-Big Ten honoree, a three-time WCGA Scholastic All-American and two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.
First team Academic All-District honorees advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America honorees will be announced in June.
• CoSIDA Release
Players Mentioned
