April 24, 2001

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Three University of Maryland student-athletes have been named first-team Verizon Academic All-Americans for the 2000-01 women's fall/winter at-large team. Senior swimmer Suzy Catterson (Reno, Nev.), junior gymnast Gillian Cote (Fredericksburg, Va.) and senior field hockey player Carla Tagliente (Cortland, N.Y.) were all selected as members of the 15-person first-team.

Maryland's three first-team honorees are the most for any school in the fall-winter at-large women's university division, which includes such Division I sports as cross country, soccer, and rifle, in addition to field hockey, gymnastics, and swimming. In fact, no other school in the university division placed more than one athlete on the first-team.

The Verizon Academic All-American teams are selected by a vote of the 1,800 members of CoSIDA (COllege Sports Information Directors of America). To be eligible, an athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 on a scale of 4.00. Sports information directors nominate eligible athletes from their schools who are named to district teams prior to being voted upon on the national level. CoSIDA has been selecting Academic All-America Teams since 1952.

Catterson, a transfer from UNLV this year, won the 2001 ACC Championship in the 100-yard freestyle. Maryland's seventh individual ACC Champion overall, Catterson was also named an honorable mention All-American for her performance in the pool this year. A biological sciences major, she has a perfect 4.00 grade point average.

Cote, a junior co-captain earned second-team All-American status in the all-around at the NCAA 2001 National Women's Gymnastics Championships on April 18. She joined teammate and fellow co-captain Jill Fisher (Huntington, N.Y.), who was a first-team All-American, as the first Maryland gymnasts to be recognized as NCAA All-Americans in school history. Cote was consistently one of the Terps' top performers this year, leading the team to a No. 10 postseason ranking this year. The Gyminfo ranking was the highest postseason ranking ever for the Terrapin gymnastics program. A history major, Cote has a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

Tagliente was a first-team AstroTurf/NFHCA Division I All-American for the second-ranked Terrapins. Arguably the best field hockey player in Maryland history, she eclipsed the Terps' all-time goals and points records this season. A three-time first team All-American, she became the second Maryland field hockey four-year All-American in program history. Part of the 1999 National Championship team, she led Maryland all the way to the national semifinals this season. A marketing and logistics major, she has a 3.97 grade point average.