It was announced today that the University of Redlands gained two student-athletes on the 2008 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District VIII At-Large First Team. Senior men’s tennis standout Eric Wagar (Yakima, WA) and junior women’s lacrosse player Lauren Matta (Holyoke, MA) received their awards due to outstanding athletic and academic accomplishments.

Wagar boasts an outstanding 3.87 GPA as a Chemistry major and Biology minor. Following graduation, he plans to attend dental school in Oregon. This season, he capped off a strong tennis career with a 23-6 singles record, primarily competing at the #2 spot. He also played #1 doubles for the 20-8 Bulldogs. In addition, Wagar helped guide the Redlands men’s tennis team to the NCAA Team Championships for the 17th-consecutive season. Earlier this month, he was named the University’s Frank Serrao Male Senior Student-Athlete of the Year and was honored with the ITA West Region Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship and Leadership Award.

Matta achieves her second-straight CoSIDA accolade, bookending a stellar season in which she established a new Redlands career mark for draw controls at 116. She currently holds a 3.72 GPA as an Accounting major. Throughout the Bulldogs’ 9-6 season, Matta provided consistent contributions, which landed her among the nation’s top-30 for caused turnovers per game as well as ground balls per game. Overall, she came up with a team-leading 61 ground balls to go along with 45 draw controls and 30 caused turnovers. In addition, she tallied eight assists to tie for the team-lead while scoring 28 goals to rank second on the team.

The members of CoSIDA nominate and vote on the Academic All-District teams, with the First Team honorees moving onto the national ballot for possible Academic All-American recognition.