June 7, 2012

Arizona State Academic All-Americans

TEMPE, Ariz.--Senior diver Elina Eggers was named a Capital One At-Large first-team Academic All-American for the second-consecutive season. Eggers is one of four female athletes to earn repeat first-team honors. 

Eggers is a two-time honoree of one of the highest academic distinctions for a collegiate athlete. Graduating with a 3.96 GPA in economics, Eggers was one of only 15 athletes in the nation to earn the award among a pool of athletes across 13 Olympic sports. The diver was also acknowledged for her academic excellence by the Pac-12 Conference, which named her its Scholar Athlete of the Year for women's swimming and diving.

"She doesn't say a whole lot, but she doesn't have to," said head coach Mark Bradshaw. "She communicates through her actions, which is the kind of person you want in your program. Someone who is just going to come in no fuss, do what they're supposed to do, and is happy to do it. She does it with integrity and grace."

Eggers, a native of Stockholm, Sweden, is one of the most accomplished divers both academically and athletically in the history of Arizona State. A two-time Pac-12 Champion ('10, '12) on the 10-meter Platform, Eggers was the National Runner-up in the event at the NCAA women's swimming and diving championships in 2011. 

While competing at Arizona State, Eggers set four new school records including two 1-meter springboard records, the 3-meter championship meet record and the record on platform during a championship meet. The senior also joins a long list of multiple NCAA All-American honorees under Bradshaw, with four career accolades including two this season. 

"I think anyone who has watched her dive and watched her compete would have a tremendous amount of respect for what she's done," said Bradshaw. "She works as hard at her school as she does her diving.  It's not like I recruited her with all that in mind. She just happens to be an outstanding student, but that's part of her makeup too. Some people might go `Oh yeah, well she's just smart', but I know how hard she works at it."