Dartmouth student athletes are expected to excel both athletically and academically. In some cases their hard work on both fronts pays off, as shown by College Sports Information Directors of America's recent recognition of three Big Green athletes as Academic All-Americans.
Nick Bonacci '07 of the men's lacrosse team was named to the first team, while Whitney Douthett '07 of the women's lacrosse team and Lindsay Mann '07 of the alpine ski team were both named to the second team.
Bonacci was a three-year starter for the lacrosse team at attack and finished his senior season leading the team with 20 assists, and was third on the team in total scoring with 45 points. He was selected to the All-Ivy first team this season for the second time in his career as well as an honorable mention All-American, and was an honorable mention all-conference pick in 2005. He was one of only a handful of unanimous selections to the All-Ivy first team in 2007.
This was the second consecutive year that Bonacci has received first team academic honors in addition to his on-field success. He graduated with a degree in economics with a 3.88 grade point average and was awarded the 1948 Scholar-Athlete Award. He was given the Tom Dent Award, given to the lacrosse team's most valuable player, and the team's offensive MVP award.
Douthett, in addition to captaining the women's soccer team in the fall, led the women's lacrosse team this year as captain, and she said she was honored by the CoSIDA recognition.
"Being named All-American is an amazing honor," Douthett said. "There are so many talented athletes and lacrosse players in this country and to be picked out of that group is really exciting."
Douthett has enjoyed an illustrious career at Dartmouth marked with both individual and team success. In 2006, she helped lead Dartmouth to a berth in the national championship game against Northwestern University.
Based on her performance senior year, she was one of 17 nominated nationally for the Tewaarton Award, which is presented to the best player in both men's and women's lacrosse.
She led the team in scoring and became the Big Green's all-time leader in assists. She finished with 201 points for her career and is the third highest scorer in Big Green history. This season, she was named to the All-Ivy first team for the fourth straight year.
Douthett also received the Agnes B. Kurtz Award, presented to the woman who best combines proficiency in athletics with dedication to the furthering of women's athletics. She graduated with a degree in government and a 3.23 GPA.
Mann received All-American honors after a successful skiing campaign, which saw Dartmouth win its first varsity NCAA national championship in 31 years.
Individually, Mann finished fourth at the NCAA championships in March in the women's slalom race, won the slalom event at the Middlebury Carnival and finished second at the Dartmouth Winter Carnival in the same race. During this past winter season, Mann finished in the top ten five out of six times, with four of those finishes in the top five.
She has been both a first team All-East and All-America selection during her career with the Big Green. She graduated with a 3.56 GPA in earth sciences and plans to go on to graduate school in order to pursue a master's degree in glaciology.
CoSIDA selects academic All-America teams in 12 programs: football, women's volleyball, men's soccer, women's soccer, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, softball, men's track and field and cross country, women's track and field and cross country, men's at-large and women's at-large.
To be nominated, the student-athlete must be a starter or an important reserve with at least a 3.20 GPA. No athlete is eligible until he or she has reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at his or her current institution.
