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2020-21 Academic All-America® Teams and Honorees
• Giovanna Tapigliani of Missouri Baptist Headlines CoSIDA Academic All-America® NAIA Volleyball Team
Women's Volleyball Player Giovanna Tapigliani of Missouri Baptist Named As 2020-21 NAIA Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year
NAIA Academic All-America® of the Year: PDF |
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AUSTIN, Texas – Senior women’s volleyball player
Giovanna Tapigliani of Missouri Baptist University has been named as the 2020-21 Academic All-America® of the Year for the NAIA, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
The Academic All-America® NAIA program is financially supported by the NAIA national governance structure to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2019-20 NAIA Google Cloud Academic All-America® teams.
This is the third year the CoSIDA All-America® of the Year for the NAIA has been recognized. Women’s swimmer
Christina Klouda from the University of the Cumberlands earned the CoSIDA Academic All-America® of the Year for the NAIA in 2018-19, while women’s basketball player
Grace Barry of Concordia (Neb.) University earned the award last year.
A senior business administration major from São Paulo, Brazil, owns a 4.00 cumulative grade-point average. She was named to the Academic All-America® team and was recognized as the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year in the women’s volleyball program. She was the first Spartan volleyball player to be named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® NAIA Volleyball team.
“This award means a lot to me,” said Tapigliani. “When I look back four years, I remember going through all of the culture shock, learning English, and getting homesick. Once I got to the United States, I read a quote saying ‘remember why you started.’ I think about my family in Brazil and all of the struggles I have been through. Now I know that God only gives you goals that He knows you can handle. First, I want to glorify Him for giving me this amazing opportunity. Then, I want to thank my family, my fiancée, my coaches, and my teammates for believing in me and helping me along the way.”
The 2020-21 American Midwest Conference Player of the Year led the Spartans to the NAIA National Championship with a national tournament best 89 total kills with a .309 attack percentage as she averaged 3.6 kills and 0.9 blocks per set. She led the team with 3.36 kills per set, hit .324 and registered 65 blocks and 128 digs. She was named to the NAIA All-Tournament Team, earned All-America first team honors and is a two-time All-AMC first team selection.
“Gi epitomizes how we strive represent Missouri Baptist day in, day out,” said Missouri Baptist head coach Chris Nichols. “As evident by our national championship this spring, she has a team-first mentality, but this is her time to shine in the spotlight individually for such a prestigious award. We couldn’t be prouder of the way Gi has achieved elite success academically and athletically. The best part is we get to see that on display for one more year!”
The CoSIDA Division III Academic All-America® of the Year award winner will be announced Tuesday (August 17) followed by the Division II winner Wednesday (August 18) and the Division I honoree Thursday (August 19).
2020-21 Sport-By-Sport NAIA Academic All-America Team Member of the Year Award Winners
| Name |
Sport |
Class |
Major, GPA |
| Andrew Clifford |
Men’s At-Large |
Sr. |
Chemistry, Math/Physics, 3.96 |
| Kylah Comley, Sterling |
Women’s Basketball |
Dr. |
Elementary Education and Exercise Science, 3.95 |
| Kevin de Lange, Shawnee State |
Men’s Soccer |
Jr. |
Business Administration, 3.99 |
| Hunter Dollander, Georgia Gwinnett |
Baseball |
Sr. |
Exercise Science, 3.56 |
| Cameron Dukes, Lindsey Wilson |
Football |
Gr. |
MBA, 3.74 (G), 3.87 (UG) |
| Maria Genovese, Georgia Gwinnett |
Women’s At-Large |
Sr. |
English, 3.97 |
| Emily Kearney, Milligan |
Women’s Track/XC |
Gr. |
Master of Arts in Humanities, 4.00 |
| Dylan Kucera, Midland |
Men’s Track/XC |
Jr. |
Secondary Education, 3.92 |
| Kyle Mangas, Indiana Wesleyan |
Men’s Basketball |
Sr. |
Finance, 3.70 |
| Lauren Quirke, Southern Oregon |
Softball |
Gr. |
Communication (UG) 3.51; HR Management (G) 4.00 |
| Giovanna Tapogliani, Missouri Baptist |
Volleyball |
Sr. |
Business Administration, 4.00 |
| Samantha Tracey, Spring Arbor |
Women’s Soccer |
Sr. |
Math, Secondary Education, 3.99 |
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Michael MacEachern, Young Harris College | Academic All-America® Co-Director for Publicity
mfmaceachern@yhc.edu | (706) 379-5106