July 5, 2007

GREENSBORO, N.C. - NCAA 1-meter diving champion Terry Horner from Florida State is among eight NCAA All-Americans featured on the 2007 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Men's Swimming and Diving Team, as announced Thursday by Commissioner John D. Swofford.

To be eligible for consideration, a student-athlete must have earned a 3.00 grade point average for the previous semester and maintained a 3.00 cumulative average during his academic career.

Clemson led all ACC schools with six selections on the academic unit, while Florida State and North Carolina each picked up five nods. The 2007 season proved to a remarkable one for FSU as ACC Diver and Freshman of the Year Terry Horner captured the NCAA 1-meter diving title and helped the Seminoles win the league championship for the first time in program history. FSU's Ed Denton, NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winner and ACC Scholar Athlete Alex Kennon, Steve Roof and Kyle Young also collected NCAA All-America recognition.

Four student-athletes from Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech and Virginia received academic laurels this year, while Maryland and Virginia Tech both had three apiece. NC State landed a pair and Ruben Ross, an NCAA All-American and ACC diving champion in both the 1-and 3-meters, completed the 40-member academic contingent as the lone representative for Miami.

Ofer Finkler, an Academic All-American and All-District selection by ESPN The Magazine, paced the Yellow Jackets on the squad, while NCAA All-American and ACC Swimmer of the Year Pat Mellors headlined for the Cavaliers and the Tar Heels were led by NCAA All-American Chip Peterson.

This year's academic team also consisted of 16 All-ACC performers, which included Clemson's Adam Farnham and Joel Johnson, Florida State's Denton, Horner, Kennon, Roof, Ross and Young, North Carolina's Keith Laabs, Philip Owen and Peterson, NC State's Austin Hampton, Virginia's Ryan Hurley, Rich Hutton and Mellors, and Virginia Tech's Kaan Tayla.