April 19, 2011
Complete Academic All-Big 12 Release (Big12Sports.com)
IRVING, Texas - Four Baylor men's golfers were named to the 2011 Academic All-Big 12 Men's Golf Team, the league office announced Tuesday. Baylor's four honors are the second-most in program history (six, 2009), while its three first-team selections are tied for the second-most in program history.
Baylor increases its total to 22 Academic All-Big 12 selections under eighth-year head coach Greg Priest, including 17 first-team honorees. In all, Baylor has 34 Academic All-Big 12 selections, including 23 first-teamers, in the conference's 15-year history.
Sophomore Jerry Ruiz and juniors Joakim Mikkelsen and Lorenzo Scotto represented Baylor on the first team; senior Cody Paladino earned second-team recognition. For the second consecutive year, Mikkelsen, a communication studies major from Drammen, Norway, earned first-team Academic All-Big 12 honors. Mikkelsen has played in nine tournaments and owns a team-best 72.11 scoring average through 27 rounds. He has posted 13 rounds of par or better, a 0.67 score vs. par and three top-10 finishes. He also boasts a team-best five rounds in the 60s, while his career-low 203 at March's Wyoming Cowboy Classic is tied for the fourth-lowest 54-hole score in program history.
Ruiz, a sophomore pre-business major from Puebla, Mexico, collected his first Academic All-Big 12 honor. He owns a 73.83 scoring average through 23 rounds, competing in eight total tournaments. His eight rounds of par or better rank third on team. Earlier this spring, he posted his career-first top-five finish, placing third overall at the Charleston Shootout.
Both Scotto and Paladino garnered Academic All-Big 12 accolades for the third time in their careers. A senior academically with a double-major in distribution management technology and international business, Scotto is a first-team selection for the second consecutive year. The Pordenone, Italy, native has a 75.15 scoring average to his credit, while posting a pair of top-25 finishes this season.
Paladino was named to the Academic All-Big 12 second team for the second straight year. The Kensington, Conn., native has a 73.87 scoring average and three top-25 finishes through eight tournaments. Paladino, who became the first Baylor men's golfer to participate individually at the NCAA Championship in 2009, was a first-team selection in 2009.
Nominated by each institution's director of student-athlete support services, the men's golf academic all-league squad consisted of 26 first team members combined with 15 on the second team, while the women had 32 first team recipients and seven student-athletes on the second team. First team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA, and the second team are those who have a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.
To qualify student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 60 percent of their team's scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are also eligible.
2011 ACADEMIC ALL-BIG 12 (BAYLOR SELECTIONS)
FIRST TEAM
Jerry Ruiz, So., Pre-Business (Puebla, Mexico)
Joakim Mikkelsen, Jr., Speech Communication (Drammen, Norway)
Lorenzo Scotto, Sr., Distribution Management Technology/International Business (Pordenone, Italy)
SECOND TEAM
Cody Paladino, Sr., English (Kensington, Conn.)
