Theocharidis Leads Verizon Academic All-America At-Large Teams

Joining Theocharidis on the University Division team are George Mason's Art Kulans (1st team) and Penn State's Zeljko Koljesar (2nd team). Volleyball players on the College Division At-Large Teams are Lewis University's Jose Martins (1st team) and Juniata's Scott Kofmehl (2nd team). USC's Miles McGann was earlier selected Verizon Academic All-District, but did not receive enough votes for Verizon Academic All-America.
 

	Theocharidis, who managed a 3.73 grade point average as a business major through four years at Hawai'i, was selected American Volleyball Coaches Association Men's National Player of the Year for the second time in his career in 2003 (also in 2001). He is the only male student-athlete to be named AVCA All-America First-Team all four seasons. In 2003, he led the MPSF and ranked among the national leaders in kills per game (5.33). Theocharidis was the first player in UH history to reach 2,000-career kills. He helped the Warriors to the national championship in 2002, Hawaii's first-ever NCAA championship.
	Kulans, a senior outside hitter, helped George Mason to a 16-10 record and was named the 2003 GMU Male Student-Athlete of the Year. He posted a 3.99 GPA in finance and marketing. Kulans ranks first at GMU in career kills, second in career digs, second in career blocks and fourth in career assists. In 2003, he averaged 2.97 kills, 1.37 digs and 0.67 blocks per game. Kulans was named to the All-EIVA First Team.
	Martins, who has a 3.90 GPA in marketing, helped Lewis to the NCAA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship this season and was named AVCA All-America Second Team. He averaged 13.80 assists per game to rank fourth nationally, all while leading the Flyers to a national-leading team attack percentage. Martins, a junior setter, added 66 blocks, 177 digs, 27 aces, 90 kills and a .541 attack percentage in 111 games in 2003.
	Kofmehl, who has a 3.84 GPA in international political economy, led Juniata to a 17-9 record and runnerup finish at the 2003 Molten Division III Men's Volleyball Invitational Championship. He paced the Eagles with a team-leading assists per game average while adding 1.09 digs and 49 total blocks. Kofmehl, who graduated magna cum laude, led Juniata to the EIVA Division III crown.
	Koljesar, who has a 3.65 GPA in computer science, finished his Penn State career ranked first in career service aces with 130 and fourth on the all-time career kills list with 1,457. A first team All-EIVA and academic All-EIVA selection this season, Koljesar posted double-digit kills in 12 matches and ended the year attacking at a .338 clip with an average of 2.77 kills per game.

The Verizon Academic All-America Teams program recognizes student-athletes who have succeeded on the field and in the classroom. Individuals are selected by votes from CoSIDA, the 1,800-member College Sports Information Directors of America. To be eligible, an athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 on a scale of 4.00. Since the program's inception in 1952, over 12,000 student-athletes have been honored with the award.

Under an agreement with CoSIDA, Verizon has been the exclusive sponsor of the Academic All-America program since 1985. A Fortune 10 company, Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with 136.6 million access line equivalents and 33.3 million Verizon Wireless customers. Verizon is the third-largest long-distance carrier for U.S. consumers, with 13.2 million long-distance lines, and the company is also the largest directory publisher in the world, as measured by directory titles and circulation. With approximately $67 billion in annual revenues and 227,000 employees, Verizon's global presence extends to the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific.

For more information on the Verizon Academic All-America award winners, please visit the CoSIDA website at www.cosida.com.