2013 Capital One Academic All-American Team
TOWSON, Md. – North Carolina Central University baseball senior Gavin Guarrera (Webster, N.Y.) was named to the Capital One Academic All-American squad by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) for his outstanding performance in the classroom and on the diamond on Friday.
“It’s a tremendous honor,” said Guarrera. “It’s a testament to the fact that our coaches and athletics department put an emphasis on academic performance. It will be nice to able to look back at my time at NCCU and know that I did well on the field and in the classroom as well.”
Guarrera, who was listed on the third team, graduated on May 11 with a degree in Sociology, finishing with 3.93 GPA (grade point average). He was also one of the top pitcher’s in the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) during his senior season topping the team with a 1.24 ERA with eight saves 24 strikeouts and only 14 walks in 29.0 innings pitched. Had Guarrera thrown one more inning he would have officially had the second-lowest earned run average in the MEAC, as conference rules stipulate that a pitcher must throw at least 30 innings to count in the league statistics. The lefty now holds the modern day record for NCCU with 14 career saves in two seasons.
“Gavin is one of the hardest workers I’ve coached over the past 13 years and has earned every bit of this accomplishment,” said NCCU head baseball coach Jim Koerner. “His preparation in the classroom and on the field has been tremendous. We are all very proud of him.”
Guarrera becomes the first student-athlete at NCCU to earn Academic All-American honors at the NCAA Division I level. In fact, he’s the first male student-athlete to accomplish that feat at NCCU, the first since 2003 and the fourth overall.
CoSIDA Academic All-America All-Time List – North Carolina Central University
Softball – Lanelle Turner (2
nd team, infield) 2001
Women's At-Large – Ria Bazie (1
st team, tennis) 2002
Women's Track/Cross Country – Katerina Glosova (1
st team) 2002
Women's Track/Cross Country – Katerina Glosova (2
nd team) 2003
Baseball – Gavin Guarrera (3
rd team, pitcher) 2013
For more information on the Capital One Academic All-American team visit www.capitaloneacademicallamerica.com
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