Issued: June 13, 2003

HOVER NAMED VERIZON ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN FIRST TEAM

EAU CLAIRE - Alison Hover (Sr.-St. Cloud, MN/Tech) became the first UW-Eau Claire women's tennis player in school history to earn Academic All-American honors as she was recently named to the 2003 Verizon Academic All-America College Division Women's At-Large First Team.

Hover is the second Blugold to receive Academic All-American status for the 2002-03 season and the fourth Blugold overall to achieve such status since 2000. Mike Bestul earned First Team status in 2001 and 2002 while Rachel Gullerud received Second Team honors in 2001 and Kari Blasczyk achieved Third Team recognition in 2000.

Playing at No. 1 singles and doubles, Hover went 25-6 this season for a Blugold team that went 30-7 and advanced to the NCAA Regionals for the third time in the last four years. Hover has been an individual national qualifier twice in singles and doubles play. A member of four WIAC championship teams Hover has won four singles titles, two at No. 1 and two at No. 3 singles. During that stretch Hover also won two WIAC doubles titles. Hover was the ITA Midwest Rookie of the Year in 1999.

Hover graduated from UW-Eau Claire in May 2003 with a degree in finance carrying a 3.96 grade-point average. A Verizon Academic All-District selection in 2002 and 2003, Hover was selected as the WIAC Tennis Scholar-Athlete Award winner in addition to receiving the Blugold Super Six Award. The Super Six Award is the university's highest honor bestowed on a student-athlete. A member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council and the Beta Upsilon Sigma business society, Hover is the president of the Actuarial Network.

Verizon Academic All-America® College Division Women's At-Large Team