June 4, 2004

ABILENE, Texas - John Roaten and Bobbye Thompson, two tennis players at Hardin-Simmons University have been named to the College Division Academic All-District VI teams as at-large selections.

Both are four-year starters for HSU and both maintained 4.0 GPAs. Roaten led the Cowboys to three American Southwest Conference Championships in his career and Thompson led the Cowgirls to four ASC titles.

The Cowgirls also advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time this season and finished the year ranked No. 2 in the region and No. 8 in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

Thompson was ranked 29th in the region in singles and No. 7 in the region in doubles. Rebecca Watkins finished the season 19th in the nation in singles and teamed with Nancy Chandler to be 12th in the nation in doubles.

The Academic All-District At-Large Teams (one male and one female) is open student-athletes participating in a variety of sports that do not have their own competition category. Tennis, LaCrosse, Field Hockey, Wrestling, Golf, Polo, Bowling and a eight other sports athletes are eligible for the award.

To be eligible, the nominee must be a starter or key reserve with legitimate athletic credentials and at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale). The nominee also must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing and must have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution.

CoSIDA members in District VI, which consists of schools with CoSIDA members in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, then vote based on a combination of academic and athletic achievement. College Division includes NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA.

Each student-athlete named to the All-District team will advance for consideration for the 2004 CoSIDA Academic All-America7 College Division Women's At-Large team, which is scheduled for release on June 17.