FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 17, 2008

Contact: K.E. Schwab  

724.738.2199

 karl.schwab@sru.edu

Blasko earns ESPN The Magazine first-team Academic All-District honor

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -  Rock senior volleyball outside hitter Jen Blasko, an exercise science major from Summit Hill, was named to ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honors by the College Sports Information Directors of America. 

Blasko, who has a 4.0-grade-point-average, received more votes than any other candidate in the district, which encompasses Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

This marks the third consecutive year Blasko has attained first-team Academic All-District status.

As a first-team Academic All-District selection, she is now eligible for Academic All-America honors. She seeks to extend to nine the string of consecutive academic years in which SRU has had at least one student-athlete named to Academic All-America status. 

On the court, Blasko leads The Rock in kills (2.99 per game), digs (3.02 per game) and service aces (49). She is one of three seniors on this year's team, which has a 24-10 overall record and is in position to earn berths in both the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and NCAA Division II Atlantic Region playoffs. 

In addition to her first-team Academic All-District honor last fall, Blasko received a PSAC "Fall Top Ten Award" for combining academic and athletic prowess. 

Blasko also earned first-team all-region honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association and second-team All-PSAC-Western Division status in the 2007-08 academic year. 

As a sophomore in 2006, Blasko earned her initial second-team All-PSAC-West honor. She is the second Rock fall sport student-athlete to attain Academic All-District status. Junior forward Jeremy Deighton, a marketing major from Broadview Heights, Ohio, was named to the men's soccer second team. 

Slippery Rock University is Pennsylvania's premier public residential university. Slippery Rock University provides students with a comprehensive learning experience that intentionally combines academic instruction with enhanced educational and learning opportunities that make a positive difference in their lives.