BARBOURVILLE, Ky. - May 25 - Ivan Mardones of Union College has been named to the CoSIDA College Division 2007 Academic All-District 4 Men's At-LargeTeam, the organization announced recently.

Mardones, a senior member of the Bulldogs and a native of Merida, Venezuela, was voted to the First Team of the College Division.

CoSIDA (the College Sports Information Directors of America) annually names Academic All-America teams in all sports. CoSIDA was established in 1957, and the Academic All-America program dates back to 1952.

To qualify for the Academic All-America Team, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade-point average of 3.20, be a sophomore, junior or senior and player in at least 50 percent of the team's games at the position listed. Each sport is divided into two divisions, University and College. The University Division includes all NCAA Division I schools, while the College Division encompasses all NCAA II, III and NAIA institutions.

CoSIDA is also separated into eight districts. District 4 includes all institutions in Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. The At-Large Team is made of student-athletes who participate in tennis, swimming, golf and other Olympic sports.

Mardones, a Business Administration major, helped Union to the 2007 Appalachian Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships as will as the NAIA Region XII Championship and a berth to the NAIA Men's Tennis National Championship Tournament.

The Bulldogs posted an 18-4 overall record and was ranked 19th in the NAIA. Union advanced to the round of 16 at nationals before being eliminated by No. 2 Azusa Pacific (Calif.) University.

By earning a spot on the All-District First Team, Mardones is now eligible to be selected for the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team.

To view all eight of the CoSIDA Academic All-District Teams, click here.