HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Alabama A&M Athletics continues to make history as senior
Fermin Ruiz Crespo (Mollina, Spain) has become just the fifth individual, and first in the history of the men's tennis program, to be named a CoSIDA Academic All-District Team selection, doing so in the At-Large category as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Thursday, July 8.
Ruiz Crespo's selection is a historic one at a Department level as he becomes the third Academic All-District selection this year, joining women's basketball's Dariauna Lewis (Omaha, Neb.) and football's Marcus Cushine (Broward County, Fla.). That equals Alabama A&M's total in the first 69 years that CoSIDA has been presenting the awards.
Each come 29 years since the last such honoree and are the first to accomplish the feat in their sport at the Division I level. Previously football's Tim McCannelly (1979-80) and Tracy Kendall (1989-90 and 1990-91) did so at the Division II level. Between them these five individuals have accounted for six such honors with Lewis, Kendall and McCannelly each earning Academic All-America honors.
Individually, Ruiz Crespo is the first individual in program history to be named to the At-Large Team, which comprises all sports that do not have their own category, including ones such as rifle, swimming, tennis, bowling, golf, lacrosse, wrestling, fencing, ice hockey, water polo and gymnastics. This makes it one of the more difficult teams to be selected to given the sheer number of individuals competing for 10 spots.
Selected from District 4, which covers all Division I programs from Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida, he joins the likes of Alabama, Florida State, South Carolina, Furman, Georgia Southern and two members of the men's tennis national champion Florida Gators on this year's team.
Additionally, of the 91 selections for the men's Division I At-Large All-District and the 193 total when including the women's, Ruiz Crespo is the only individual to be named from a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). He joins Lewis in that regard as she was one of the 95 total selections among the basketball honorees.
Taking care of business in the classroom with a sterling 4.0 in Civil Engineering, Ruiz Crespo helped lead the Bulldogs to new heights this year. That began with a 4-1 mark in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play that helped earn them the No. 2 seed in the league tournament.
From there they would notch a pair of thrilling 4-3 victories to claim the first SWAC Tournament Championship in program history and the first ever NCAA Tournament berth that came with it. A key component to that success, he played in all 13 matches, going 4-5 in doubles and winning four straight against Troy, Samford, Belmont and Prairie View from March 5-13.
Additionally, he has earned his place on both the SWAC Commissioners Honor Roll and Alabama A&M Athletic Directors Honor Roll three times each over the course of his career.
"Fermin is the epitome of a student-athlete," said head coach
Willis Mbandi. "His hard work and dedication on and off the court has been a great example to all his teammates. I'm happy that his hard work is being recognized."
The first tennis player to earn All-District honors, Ruiz Crespo is now eligible for CoSIDA Academic All-America honors which will be announced on Friday, August 6.
ABOUT THE COSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA PROGRAM
The 2020-21 CoSIDA Academic All-District At-Large Teams, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America, have been released to recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.
To be eligible for Academic All-District and All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 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 20,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
2020-21 CoSIDA Academic All-District At-Large Teams (District 4)
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
| Swimming |
Cade Auerbach |
Alabama |
Sr. |
4.0 |
Finance/Economics |
| Swimming |
Joshua Davidson |
Florida State |
Sr. |
3.94 |
Mechanical Engineering |
| Swimming |
Derek Maas |
Alabama |
Sr. |
4.0 |
Biology/Premed |
| Swimming |
Nicholas Perea |
Alabama |
Jr. |
4.0 |
Mechanical Engineering |
| Tennis |
Sam Riffice |
Florida |
Jr. |
3.72 |
Political Science |
| Tennis |
Daniel Rodrigues |
South Carolina |
Jr. |
3.78 |
Experimental Psychology |
| Tennis |
Fermin Ruiz Crespo |
Alabama A&M |
Sr. |
4.0 |
Civil Engineering |
| Tennis |
Drew Singerman |
Furman |
Sr. |
4.0 |
Health Sciences |
| Tennis |
Duarte Vale |
Florida |
Sr. |
3.44 |
Economics |
| Tennis |
Pascal Wagemaker |
Georgia Southern |
Sr. |
4.0 |
Mechanical Engineering |
Alabama A&M History of Academic All-District Selections (6 Selections/5 Individuals)
2020-21 – Fermin Ruiz Crespo (At-Large – Men's Tennis)
2020-21 – Marcus Cushine (Football - DL)
2020-21 – Dariauna Lewis (Women's Basketball)&
1990-91 – Tracy Kendall (Football - QB)%
1989-90 – Tracy Kendall (Football – QB)%
1979-80 – Tim McCannelly (Football - C)*
%First-Team Academic All-America (only individual to accomplish in program history)
&Third-Team Academic All-America
*First Academic All-America in Program History
