Men's Golfer Kyle Wittenbach Receives Academic All-District Honor

Men's Golfer Kyle Wittenbach Receives Academic All-District Honor

*2011 Capital One Academic All-District IV At-Large Team Release* - (PDF)Get Acrobat Reader

Senior Kyle Wittenbach (Lowell) of the Ferris State University men's golf team has been named to the 2010-11 Capital One Academic All-District IV College Division Men's At-Large Team as announced this Thursday (May 19) by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Wittenbach, a 2010-11 All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) First-Team selection and the medalist at the 2010 GLIAC Championships (Oct. 3-4), was among 10 student-athletes to receive first-team laurels.  As a result, Wittenbach has earned a spot on the national ballot for 2010-11 Captain One Academic All-America At-Large Team honors which will be announced later this month.  The national ballot is voted upon by AAA Committee members, the CoSIDA Board and other selected individuals.

A marketing/professional golf management major, Wittenbach recorded a team second-best and 76.00 stroke average (1,976 total strokes) in 26 rounds this season.  He placed among the top 20 players in five tournaments this 2010-11 campaign, which included a pair of top-five place performances.

Wittenbach, who garnered or shared top team scoring honors in four tournaments this season, earned 2010 GLIAC Championship medalist plaudits with a three-round 215-stroke total as the Bulldogs were crowned conference champions.  He also turned in a second-place showing at the NCAA-II Great Lakes Region Tournament II-The Jewell (April 2-3) by carding a two-round 144 score.  A 2009-10 GLIAC All-Academic Team member, Wittenbach was tabbed as the GLIAC Men's Golf Athlete of the Week earlier (Oct. 5) this 2010-11 season and played a key part in the Bulldogs making their ninth consecutive NCAA-II Super Regional Tournament appearance.

Wittenbach concluded his two-year (2009-11) FSU career averaging 75.84 strokes (2,351 total strokes) in 31 rounds.  A season ago (2009-10), he was chosen as the team's recipient of the FSU President's Academic Award for having the squad's highest cumulative grade point average and also attained Divison II Athletics Directors Association Academic Achievement Award kudos.       

At-large team nominees are taken from student-athletes in the sports of bowling, crew, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming, tennis and water polo with each NCAA institution allowed to submit three total nominees for consideration.

In order to be considered, student-athletes must have a minimum 3.20 cumulative grade point average, have reached sophomore standing both academically and athletically, have completed at least one full academic year at their current institutions, and participated in at least 50 percent of their team’s competitions.

The team is selected by a vote of CoSIDA members within District IV, which encompasses schools in Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee.