University of Minnesota Athletics
Beckerle And Cerensek Named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District
5/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Beckerle, a senior from St. Louis, Mo., completed his Gopher career this winter by finishing 16th in the 1650 freestyle at the NCAA Championships in Atlanta, Ga. Beckerle is a three-time All-American and owns the second-fastest times in school history in the 1000 and 1650 freestyle events. He is also a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and a four-time College Swimming Coaches Association Academic All-American. Beckerle has twice been named a Top Five Scholar-Athlete at the University of Minnesota. He was recently awarded the NCAA postgraduate scholarship after graduating with a 3.90 grade-point-average in honors physics. He plans on pursuing a Ph.D. in physics at the University of Minnesota.
Cerensek, a native of Zagreb, Croatia, is a junior nine-time All-American swimmer. At the 2006 Big Ten Championships, he finished second in 50 freestyle, third in the 100 free and fourth in the 200 free. He has been a finalist in each of his nine individual events at the Big Ten Championships during his career. He took home All-America honors in 2006 as part of the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle relays at the NCAA Championships in Atlanta. Cerensek boasts an impressive international swimming resume as well. He competed for his native Croatia at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece and most recently at the 2006 World Championships. Cerensek, who owns a 3.75 GPA in psychology, is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and a two-time CSCAA Academic All-American.
Joining the Gophers on the Academic All-District team were David Backes (Minnesota State), Bob Pederson (Valparaiso), Brian Guntil (Loyola), Alex Tirapelle (Illinois), Nick Meyer (Ball State), Will Turner (Butler), Justin Wenger (IUPUI) and Giordan Pagioli (Purdue).
Players Mentioned
