BATON ROUGE — LSU’s Mandy Heintz garnered yet another groundbreaking accolade for her performance during the 2002 season on Tuesday as the Tigers’ prolific goal scorer was named to the Verizon Wireless Women’s Soccer Academic All-America Second Team.
By earning one of the nation’s most prestigious academic honors, Heintz became the first LSU soccer player to be recognized as an All-American.
“This is the eighth year of the LSU soccer program, and after eight years it’s a tremendous honor for us to have our first All-American,” said LSU head coach George Fotopoulos. “I believe that any time a person receives an individual honor it’s driven by the team, but this honor just shows the character of Mandy. Not only is she one of the best soccer players in the country, but she has also gotten her work done is the classroom at the same time.”
The Verizon Wireless Academic All-America Teams program recognizes student-athletes who have succeeded on the field and in the classroom.
Individuals are selected by votes from CoSIDA, the 1,800-member 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.
Since the program’s inception in 1952, over 12,000 student-athletes have been honored with the award. This is the second year the program has recognized soccer with a separate category outside of its At-Large team.
“The Academic All-America program provides us with a unique opportunity to recognize and highlight the remarkable academic and athletic excellence of today’s students. Our Sports Information Directors are able to pay tribute to the phenomenal individuals at their colleges and universities with this prestigious scholar athlete award,” said Alan Cannon, President of CoSIDA.
Under an agreement with CoSIDA, Verizon has been the exclusive sponsor of the Academic All-America program since 1985. Verizon, America’s literacy champion, strongly believes that literacy is a key ingredient to success and outstanding achievements in life.
The Academic All-America program is part of Verizon Reads, the company’s national campaign to promote literacy through corporate philanthropy, partner collaboration, community outreach, and customer and employee participation.
“This is a terrific honor for Mandy,” Fotopoulos said. “It is just an honor for our coaching staff in that we were able to have our first All-American during our tenure here at LSU and hopefully we will have many more to come.”
Heintz, LSU’s native of San Antonio, Texas, was named the Louisiana Player of the Year after she finished the season as the Southeastern Conference’s leader in both goals and points and ended the regular season as the nation’s fourth-leading scorer.
The Tigers’ junior forward recorded 23 goals, added four assists and scored 50 total points as she moved into second place on LSU’s all-time records list in four categories. The second-team All-SEC selection scored four goals twice during the season and earned SEC Player of the Week honors and was named to both the Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week and the Soccer America Team of the Week.
2002-03 VERIZON ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA
First Team
Name School Yr. Position Hometown GPA/Major
Holly Cohen Texas-El Paso Sr. F El Paso, Tex. 3.75/Criminal Justice
Shannon Kuhl Dayton Sr. F Hamilton, Ohio 3.93/Education
Katharina Lindner* Hartford Sr. F Kleinostheim,Germany 4.00/Communication
Joanna Lohman Penn State Jr. MF Silver Spring, Md. 3.97/Management
Leah Robinson Virginia Commonwealth Jr. MF Sackville, Nova Scotia 3.95/Biology
Kim Zarzour Alabama Sr. MF Huntsville, Ala. 4.00/Communication Disorders
Kate Foley Connecticut Sr. D Tolland, Conn. 3.98/Molecular, Cell Biology
Maren Harper Utah Sr. D Sacramento, Cal. 4.00/Political Science
Angie Portinasco Denver Sr. D Littleton, Col. 3.97/Biology
Christine Seaman West Virginia Sr. D Belleville, Ill. 3.75/Pre-Veterinary Medicine
Lisa Nowoslawski UAB Sr. GK Melbourne, Fla. 4.00/Biology
Second Team
Name School Yr. Position Hometown GPA/Major
Mandy Heintz LSU Jr. F San Antonio, Texas 3.42/Kinesiology
Amy Morrison Butler Sr. F Dallas, Texas 3.45/Pharmacy
Christie Welsh Penn State Sr. F Massapequa Park, N.Y. 3.35/Human Development
Katie Holtzapfel Alabama Jr. MF Florence, Ky. 4.00/Nursing
Jennifer Kehl St. Louis Sr. MF Fort Collins, Col. 3.60/Communications
Erchen Theys New Mexico Jr. MF Langdorp, Belgium 4.00/Management
Sarah Buchrucher SW Texas State Sr. D Arlington, Texas 3.97/Recreational Administration
Prue Cormie Virginia Commonwealth Jr. D Gold Coast, Australia 3.86/Interdiscliplinary Studies
Kristin Hoyle East Carolina Sr. D Longwood, Fla. 4.00/Exercise & Sports Science
Kanika McAlpine South Carolina Sr. D Huntsville, Ala. 3.84/Biology, Chemistry
Melissa Haire West Virginia Sr. GK Lewisburg, Pa. 3.94/Mechanical Engineering
Third Team
Name School Yr. Position Hometown GPA/Major
Mary Litvan Southwest Missouri State Jr. F Springfield, Mo. 4.00/Biology
Bethany Sanker Kent State Sr. F Lakewood, Ohio 3.99/Advertising
Christine Sinclair Portland So. F Burnaby, Br. Columbia 3.78/Life Sciences
Kate Antongiovanni Denver Sr. MF Bakersfield, Cal. 3.56/Statistics
Whitney Barrett Baylor Sr. MF Albuquerque, N.M. 3.96/University Scholar
Tara Flint William & Mary Jr. MF Sterling, Va. 3.82/Mathematics, Computer Science
Jocelyn Dumaresq Seton Hall Jr. D Harrisburg, Pa. 3.98/Secondary Education, English
Kelly Kennedy Marshall Sr. D Fort Wright, Ky. 4.00/Health Management
Amy LePeilbet Arizona State Jr. D Crystal Lake, Ill. 3.84/Sociology
Jenny Shanks Marist Sr. D Sound Beach, N.Y. 3.92/Mathematics, Biology
Gretchen Lear North Carolina State Sr. GK Springfield, Va. 4.00/Civil Engineering
* Denotes Verizon Academic All-America Team Member of the Year