Academic All-American Accolades

Junior women’s water polo goalie Flora Bolonyai and senior men’s swimmer Alex Lendrum of USC Dornsife have been named to the 2013 Capital One Academic All-America First Team, the first Trojan pair to collect the honors in the same year since 1995-96.

Bolonyai and Lendrum were chosen for the multisport “at-large” category, marking USC’s first first-team selections since 2006.

In addition, men’s water polo player Matthew Burton was selected to the Capital One Academic All-America second team.

The at-large team for the Academic All-America program includes the sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis, water polo for both men and women, bowling, crew and field hockey for women, and volleyball and wrestling for men. The teams are selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Bolonyai and Lendrum, who landed top honors for their strengths in the pool and in the classroom, bring USC’s all-time total of Academic All-America first teamers to 31 since the award began in 1952.

They join an elite group of Trojans to earn this distinction: Athletic Director Pat Haden is a two-time honoree (1973-74), as is volleyball’s Katie Haller (1992-93), the first USC woman to have earned the recognition. Bolonyai is the third consecutive USC woman to receive the honor, following volleyball’s Emily Adams in 2004 and tennis player Anca Anastasiu in 2006. Lendrum is the second swimmer to earn the award, joining Ray Looze who received it in 1990.

The last time USC featured at least two All-American first teamers in one year was in 1995-96, when football players Jeremy Hogue and Matt Keneley joined men’s tennis player Lukas Hovorka. Keneley went on to win again in the fall of 1996.

Bolonyai, economics and mathematics major, is the first Trojan water polo player to earn Capital One Academic All-American first team honors and the fourth USC women’s athlete to win. A 2013 NCAA champion with the Women of Troy and a 2012 Olympian for Hungary, Bolonyai’s power in the water is matched by her strength in the classroom. Holding a 3.39 cumulative GPA as an economics/mathematics major, Bolonyai has been dominant in all realms since coming to USC as a freshman from Hungary in 2010. Since then, she’s become a two-time AWPCA Academic All-American and a three-time MPSF Scholar-Athlete, in addition to her CoSIDA All-District and national honor.

Lendrum, biological and biomedical sciences major, a two-time USC swimming captain, was a 2012 and 2013 All-American who earned 2012 CoSIDA Academic All-America second team honors last year. Lendrum, who has a 3.76 GPA in biochemistry, earned a host of academic honors this year. He won a prestigious 2013 NCAA postgraduate scholarship, was named the 2013 Pac-12 Swimming Scholar Athlete of the Year and collected his third straight Pac-12 All-Academic first team selection. Lendrum helped lead USC to fourth place at the 2013 NCAA Championships, the Trojans’ best finish since 2001. At the 2013 Pac-12, Lendrum was part of USC’s winning 800-yard free relay and also finished a career-best third in the 200-yard backstroke, marking the fourth straight year he reached the final of the event.

A two-time AWPCA All-American, Burton was a captain and a key contributor during USC’s fifth consecutive national championship season in 2012, tying for fifth on the team with 29 goals during USC’s perfect 29-0 season. A true freshman on USC’s undefeated 2008 national championship team, Burton finishes his USC career with five NCAA championship rings. He is the first USC men’s water polo player to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors thanks to his strong 3.69 GPA as he rounds out his master’s degree in communication management.