SAN ANTONIO — Dempsey Thornton was named to the Capital One Academic All-District VII team, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced on Thursday. She now advances to the national ballot for Academic All-America honors.
Thornton becomes the first player to be named all-district since Kelsey Jewasko and Kelsey Schwirtlich were first-team selections in 2011. Jewasko also is the last player in program history to earn Academic All-America accolades.
The Corpus Christi native has been instrumental in the Roadrunners’ success this season. She leads the team with 336 kills and ranks seventh all-time in UTSA history in total attacks. She has helped lead UTSA to a 12-0 mark in Conference USA play and the perfect streak stands at 20 league wins dating back to last fall.
Thornton maintains a spotless 4.00 GPA in sport, event & tourism management. The 6-foot-1 outside hitter has earned numerous academic accolades throughout her Roadrunners career, including a C-USA Academic Medal in 2013.
The Capital One Academic All-District teams recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom and the squads are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States. Capital One has been the entitlement rights holder to CoSIDA’s Academic All-America teams programs since 2011. This year's honorees advance to the Capital One Academic All-America Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.
Four matches remain on UTSA's regular-season slate with the final two home matches of the campaign coming this weekend. The Birds (16-7) will host UAB at 7 p.m. on Friday and FIU at 1 p.m. two days later.