DELAWARE, Ohio - Announced Tuesday by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), Chris Coley (Austin, Texas) has been voted onto the College Division Academic All-America Men's At-Large Second Team, the fifth Seattle University student-athlete to receive Academic All-America recognition during the 2006-07 academic year.
Coley, a double major in psychology and philosophy with a 3.84 grade point average, earned four top eight finishes at the 2007 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships to increase his career total of All-America honors to seven. Individually, he finished fifth in the 100 butterfly and sixth in the 200 butterfly, plus he was part of the 4x200 freestyle relay squad that placed sixth and the 4x100 freestyle relay quartet that finished eighth.
The 2006 NCAA Division II National Champion in the 100 butterfly, Coley has helped the men's swim team advance up the standings at the Division II Swimming and Diving Championships over the past three years. In 2005, Coley's freshman year, the Redhawks finished in 19th place, followed by a 16th place finish in 2006 and a program-best ninth place finish this year.
After March's NCAA Championships, Coley traveled to India for a four-month period of personal reflection and service to those less fortunate. He joins Ana Gutierrez, Adam Jensen, Ashley Porter, and Hans Esterhuizen as Seattle University student-athletes to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America recognition this year.
Coley was eligible for Academic All-America honors by being voted First Team Academic All-District. The Men's At-Large Team consists of candidates from fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming, tennis, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling. To be nominated for Academic All-District and All-America recognition, the student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) for his/her career.