November 10, 2011

Three earn Academic All-District

GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Three Grove City College football players earned Division III Academic All-District First Team honors Thursday afternoon from Capital One and the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Senior linebacker Tim Irwin (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central), sophomore safety Chris Gibbs (Akron, Ohio/Revere) and sophomore punter Joe Diani (West Leechburg, Pa./Leechburg) earned First Team recognition from the district's sports information directors. All three men now advance to the nationwide Academic All-America ballot as First Team selections.

Irwin is in his third year as Grove City's starting strongside linebacker. He is second on the team with 59 tackles this year. He has one interception and has forced two fumbles. Irwin has started all nine games this year and has made 29 consecutive starts for Grove City.

He had 52 tackles and an interception in 2010, helping Grove City field the Presidents' Athletic Conference's top defense.

Irwin has compiled a 3.63 grade-point average while majoring in molecular biology. He is a Dean's List student who has been named to the conference's Academic Honor Roll. Irwin has been inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa and Roundtable honoraries, along with the Beta Beta Beta biology honorary. He is also a Presidential Scholarship recipient.

Gibbs is in his first season as Grove City's starting free safety after playing starting six games at cornerback in 2010. He leads the Wolverines with 71 total tackles, including six pass breakups. He ranks sixth in the conference in total tackles and tops among defensive backs.

Gibbs owns a 3.83 cumulative grade-point average as a molecular biology major. He has earned spots on the Dean's List and the PAC Academic Honor Roll.

Diani took over as Grove City's punter early in the season and is averaging 30.3 yards per kick on 26 punts. Diani has forced eight fair catches and placed three punts inside the 20 without a touchback. A two-year letterman, Diani has also played extensively in the Wolverine secondary as a nickelback and safety. He has one interception and 15 tackles in eight games this season.

A mathematics major, Diani has earned a 3.62 cumulative GPA at Grove City. He is a Dean's List student and has achieved a place on the PAC Academic Honor Roll. He is a Presidential Scholarship recipient and a member of the College's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

The Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America Team will be announced later this month.

The 2011-12 academic year marks the first year that CoSIDA has based its Academic All-America program on individual divisions within college athletics. Currently, CoSIDA honors student-athletes in NCAA Divisions I, II and III, along with a "College" division that includes NAIA institutions and junior colleges. Prior to this year, the College Division included NCAA Divisions II and III, as well as NAIA schools.

Grove City is now part of District IV for the CoSIDA Academic All-America program. District IV includes all of the NCAA Division III programs in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 

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