June 12, 2008

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - (Thursday, June 12, 2008) - Redhawks gymnast Sandra Blake (Kennewick, Wash.) was named ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American At-Large Third Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Blake is the first Redhawks athlete to garner Academic All-American accolades since 2005 when men's basketball player Derek Winans was named a First Team selection. She is the first female athlete since soccer player Jen Cross garnered first team honors in 2004.

Blake, who finished her junior year, has maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average throughout her Southeast Missouri State academic career. She is a two-time ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District 7 Team selection in the at-large category including this past season.

She is also been named National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches (NACGC) Scholar Athlete since her freshman season and helped her team to the 2007 NACGC Academic National Championship when the team finished with the nation's best team GPA with a 3.741. Blake was also awarded the Ohio Valley Conference Medal of Honor for her academic excellence in 2007 and is a three-time selection to the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll.

As a competitor Blake has been equally impressive as she helped lead her team to their second NCAA Regional berth in three seasons this past April and a final team ranking of 30th in the country. Blake has been an NCAA Regional Qualifier throughout her three-year career. A 10-time All Midwest Independent Conference (MIC) selection she garnered MIC Gymnast of the Year and Newcomer of the Year her freshman season.

The ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American At-Large Teams features three teams comprising of 45 members. Blake is one of seven gymnasts selected to one of the three teams and the only representative from a MIC or OVC member school. She is also one of 15 athletes named Academic All-American with a perfect 4.0 GPA.

To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.