May 22, 2003
FAIRFAX, VA ... George Mason University senior men's volleyball player Art Kulans (Crystal Lake, IL/Crystal Lake South) was one of 10 athletes named to the District III Verizon Academic All-America At-Large first team, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced Thursday. Kulans and wrestler Adam Britt of the Virginia Military Institute were both repeat selections to the team.
Kulans, a 6-5 native of Crystal Lake, IL, and a 1999 graduate of Crystal Lake South High School, has earned the honor all three years in which he has been eligible and was named to the national second-team last year. An All-Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association first-team and EIVA All-Academic Team selection, Kulans helped the Patriots to a 16-10 overall record and a runner-up finish in the EIVA this season. He averaged 2.97 kills, 1.37 digs and 0.67 blocks per game, and finished his career ranked first in career kills, second in career digs and blocks and fourth in career assists in George Mason rally-scoring records.
Named the 2003 George Mason Male Student-Athlete of the Year, as voted by his peers, Kulans graduated with a 3.947 grade point average with a double major in finance and accounting. He was named to both the Dean's List and Athletic Director's Honor Roll every semester of college, and earned a perfect 4.0 GPA in six consecutive semesters.
District III includes all Division I schools in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Other first-team honorees included Shilo Ayalon (Georgia Tech, swimming), James Cameron (Furman, tennis), Patrick Diaz (James Madison, wrestling), Ulrich Ebensperger (Georgia Southern, tennis), Troy Matteson (Georgia Tech, golf), Stephen Mohr (North Carolina, swimming), Pedro Nieto (Virginia Commonwealth, tennis) and Zach Wilcox (Florida, diving).
To be nominated for the Verizon Academic All-America program, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore with a 3.2 or higher cumulative grade point average and be a starter or significant reserve. The at-large team is made up of athletes in all NCAA sports other than baseball, football, basketball, soccer and track & field/cross country. Members of the first team are now eligible for the national team, which will be announced June 10th.
