May 25, 2006

Chapel Hill, N.C. - Five North Carolina student-athletes have earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honors, as announced Thursday. Named to the men's at-large first team for District 3 were Steven Piantadosi (fencing) and Dave Werry (lacrosse). Courtney Bumpers (gymnastics) and Katy Tran (field hockey) were named to the women's at-large first team, and Jennifer Kling (fencing) was named to the second team. All five were seniors during the 2005-06 school year.

As first-team selections, Bumpers, Piantadosi, Tran and Werry are candidates for the Academic All-America team, which will be selected from student-athletes honored in one of eight districts.

Piantadosi, from Reisterstown, Md., earned a double major in mathematics and linguistics with a 3.92 grade point average, the highest of any UNC senior student-athlete. An NCAA qualifier and participant in 2006, he received the team's Award of Excellence in foil all four years of his career. He was an All-MidAtlantic/South Regional selection in 2006 and served as captain of the men's foil squad for three years. A Phi Beta Kappa inductee and honors graduate, he received the top academic award in both of his majors. He also was the recipient of an ACC Senior Scholar-Athlete Award, which goes to one male and one female student-athlete at each ACC school.

Werry, from Oshawa, Ontario, earned a double major in economics and political science with a 3.79 grade point average. A key reserve throughout his career and the lacrosse team's number two face-off specialist as a junior and senior, he was one of six national finalists for the 2005 John Wooden Citizenship Cup given by Athletes for a Better World. He attended UNC on a Morehead Scholarship, the most prestigious merit scholarship awarded at the University, and was a member of the honors program and a Phi Beta Kappa inductee. A three-time winner of the ACC Top Six for Service Award, he founded a program at UNC called Carolina Dreams, which brings children from UNC Hospitals to campus to attend Tar Heel sporting events with Carolina student-athletes.

Bumpers, from Stone Mountain, Ga., majored in environmental health science with a 3.49 grade point average. A two-time NCAA champion in the floor exercise, she was the 2006 East Atlantic Gymnastics League Gymnast of the Year and was named All-EAGL in vault, beam, floor, uneven bars and all-around. She was the recipient of the 2006 American Award, a national honor that goes to a senior gymnast who is outstanding in academics and athletics. Selected for an ACC Weaver-James-Corrigan postgraduate scholarship, she was involved in UNC's freshman student-athlete mentoring program and Habitat for Humanity.

Tran, from Grantville, Pa., earned a double major in biology and exercise and sport science while carrying a 3.51 GPA. She was named first-team All-America for the 2005 field hockey season, when she was UNC's starting goalkeeper for the third year. A two-time All-ACC and All-ACC Tournament pick, she was team co-captain as a senior. She was a three-time recipient of the ACC Top Six for Service Award and served as executive officer of the freshman student-athlete mentoring program, among many other service activities. Tran was selected for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship as well as an ACC Weaver-James-Corrigan postgraduate scholarship.

Kling, from Indianapolis, earned a double major in English and philosophy with a 3.89 GPA. The fencing team MVP as a senior, she also was named Most Outstanding for the second year in a row. Recipient of an ACC Senior Scholar-Athlete Award, she attended UNC on a Morehead Scholarship and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. She earned highest honors in creative writing and has had her work published in a literary magazine.