June 7, 2012

June 7, 2012

COLUMBUS, Ohio   - Ohio State has placed three student-athletes on the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America At-Large teams, CoSIDA announced. Men's swimmer Andrew Elliott earned first team honors, while men's hockey defenseman Sean Duddy and rower Ulrike Denker were honored as second team selections.

A native of Granger, Ind., Elliott becomes the fourth Buckeye in men's swimming and diving history to be named an academic all-American. Elliott is a three-time Big Ten Champion, winning the 200 backstroke in both 2011 and 2012 and claiming the 100 backstroke title in 2010. A three-time All-Big Ten honoree and the school record holder in the 200 and 100 backstroke, he was a three-time NCAA individual qualifier and earned All-America honors as part of the 400 and 200 medley relay teams in 2011. A standout student as a marketing major who plans to attend graduate school for sport management, he was the recipient of the NCAA's Elite 88 Award in 2010 when he had the highest grade-point average for an athlete competing at the NCAA championships. A four-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete and three-time Academic All-Big Ten choice, as well as a team captain as a senior, he was a member of the 2010 squad that won Ohio State's first Big Ten team title in 54 years. Elliott was honored earlier this week when he was named the winner of the 2012 Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor for Ohio State.

Duddy, a native of Ann Arbor, Mich., becomes the fourth hockey player in OSU history to be named a first team honoree and fifth overall.  Dundy earned his degree in finance at winter commencement ceremonies, graduating with a 3.96 grade-point average. A Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Academic All-Big Ten honoree, CCHA Scholar-Athlete selection and four-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete, he was one of 35 students from the Fisher College of Business to be named to the Dean's Leadership Academy and he served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Board since 2009. Duddy, a Top 10 finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, was a captain for the Buckeyes as both a junior and senior and ended his career with 124 games played, with two goals, 22 assists and 24 points. He skated in all 35 games in 2011-12 and had a career-best 13 assists and 14 points after entering the campaign with just nine assists and 10 points in his first three years.

From Essen, Germany, Denker becomes the first rower in program history to be named an academic all-American. Denker has been rowing with the First Varsity Eight the entire 2012 season and helped the crew to an 8-1 overall record during the regular season. In those nine races, the 1V8 won by an average time of 8.99 seconds while facing seven Top 20 opponents. The Buckeye 1V8 was awarded Big Ten Boat of the Week April 10 after sweeping the Big Ten Duals vs. Wisconsin and Minnesota and later earned the Silver Medal at the Big Ten Championships. Denker and the Buckeyes will compete in the NCAA championships next week. She was an All-American and All-Central Region honoree as a junior and has earned CRCA Scholar-Athlete, Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Academic All-Big Ten and Ohio State Scholar-Athlete accolades. After earning her bachelor's degree in business last spring, Denker currently is working on her master's of accounting degree in the Fisher College of Business.