Atlanta, G.A. — Graduated senior Anthony Maccaglia of the Oglethorpe men’s golf team received another prestigious year-end accolade Tuesday (June 9th, 2015), earning a spot on the Capital One Academic All-America Division III Men’s At-Large First Team from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). This marks Maccaglia’s second consecutive Capital One Academic All-America honor after he garnered a spot on the second team last year. In addition, he becomes the first Oglethorpe student-athlete to ever be named to an Academic All-America first team selected by CoSIDA.
Maccaglia adds this to a bevy of end-of-year awards he has received in the past month. A psychology major with a 3.68 GPA from Tampa, Florida, Maccaglia was named as the 2015 Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year honoree for Division III by the Golf Coaches Association of America. A four-time Division III PING First Team All-American as awarded by the same organization, he was named Southern Athletic Association Men’s Golfer of the Year for the second straight season, and earned SAA Man of the Year honors this year. The top-ranked golfer in the nation in Division III according to Golfstat, Maccaglia tied for second at this year’s NCAA Division III Championship in Greensboro, N.C., marking the second time in his career he has finished either first or second in that event.
Maccaglia joins 15 other student-athletes on this year’s Academic All-America Men’s At-Large First Team. He is one of two golfers on the squad, joining Bobby Holden of Redlands and Alex Kapraun of St. Thomas (Minnesota). Those three are joined by student-athletes competing in such varied sports as fencing, gymnastics, hockey, swimming, tennis, volleyball and wrestling.
Maccaglia remains the fourth Oglethorpe student-athlete to ever be named to an Academic All-America team by CoSIDA.
“The Capital One Academic All-America honor captures both the academic and athletic part of the equation,” said Head Coach Jim Owen. “We appreciate CoSIDA and Capital One reaching out to sports like golf through the at-large program. It is certainly a great recognition for Anthony to be both the first-ever Oglethorpe student-athlete named to an Academic All-America first team and the first-ever Stormy Petrel to earn Academic All-America accolades in two different years. It’s a testament to his work both on the golf course and in the classroom over the last four years.”
Among the 45 student-athletes of each gender selected to the Division III Academic All-America At-Large teams, eight men and eight women carry 4.00 or better grade-point averages. The 16 members of the women’s at-large first team carry an average GPA of 3.91, while the 15 members of the men’s at-large team carry an average GPA of 3.90.