Fresno Pacific found four of their water polo players on a prestigious list among NCAA DI players for outstanding academics. The Sunbirds were led by Jenny Diebert, listed with Marissa Nunez, Jen Wolter and Yulia Blinovskaya.
Blinovskaya was also listed as an All-American for water polo. Few athletes perform at an All-American level both in the pool and in the classroom, and Blinovskaya managed to be the only NAIA player to receive honors on both lists.
Diebert earned an Outstanding holding above a 3.7 GPA while all three other Sunbirds had GPAs over 3.2 to receive Excellent ratings. Again, the four Sunbirds were the only four NAIA players honored on the list, and were ranked among the NCAA DI athletes.
Executive Director of the ACWPC, Bryan Kimbell noted, "The fact we have so many talented and academically gifted athletes proves that water polo is a valuable sport to the academic institution as well as the athletic department of our universities."