BARBOURVILLE, Ky. – June 18 – After helping the Union College men’s tennis reach new heights, senior Ivan Mardones recently was named to the 2007 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Men’s At-Large College Division Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

The Men’s At-Large program for the Academic All-America program includes the sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, rifle, tennis, volleyball, water polo and wrestling.

Mardones, a native of Merida, Venezuela, landed on the Third Team. Mardones was District IV First Team selection as he joined Kevin Smith in being the only persons in school history to make a CoSIDA Academic All-America Team. Smith made the 2006 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Baseball College Division Second Team.

CoSIDA 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.

A Business Administration major, Mardones helped the Bulldog tennis team to an 18-4 overall record and a No. 19 ranking in the NAIA. Union won both the Appalachian Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships before capturing the NAIA Region XII championship, earning its first-ever NAIA National Tournament berth. The Bulldogs advanced to the round of 16 at nationals thanks to a 6-3 win over Aquinas (Mich.) College in the opening round.

To view the complete listing of the 2007 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Men’s At-Large Teams, click here.