STANFORD, Calif. - Five Stanford student-athletes were named to the Google Cloud Academic All-America teams on Friday, led by Makenzie Fischer (women's water polo), who was named Team Member of the Year for Division I at-large programs.
Alongside Fischer, juniors Emily Arbuthnott (women's tennis) and Albane Valenzuela (women's golf) were named first team honorees, while senior Ella Eastin (women's swimming and diving) was a second team selection and senior Sameer Kumar (men's tennis) earned third team accolades, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
This is Fischer's third Academic All-America honor and the second for Eastin. The academic All-America at-large teams recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.
Makenzie Fischer
A 2016 Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA champion, Fischer put together one of the most impressive offensive seasons in MPSF history. The National Player of the Year and NCAA Tournament MVP scored a league-best 3.50 goals per game, the second-highest average in the MPSF over the past 15 seasons. Fischer's 84 goals this season are second in school history and she's sixth on Stanford's all-time scoring list (205). A mechanical engineering major with a 4.027 GPA, the junior was a CoSIDA academic All-American last season, the second woman in program history to earn the honor (Maggie Steffens). Emily Arbuthnott
An economics major, Arbuthnott holds a 4.14 GPA and was named to the Pac-12 All-Academic First Team for the second straight season. Ranked No. 49 nationally, Arbuthnott (33-7 overall, 20-3 duals) led the Cardinal in overall victories for the second straight year. Named an All-Pac-12 Second Team selection and competing mainly at the No. 4 spot, Arbuthnott clinched a team-best 10 matches, increasing her career total to 28. She is 10-2 in three-setters this season and 22-4 for her career. Arbuthnott is Stanford's first women's tennis recipient of the award since Alice Barnes was recognized as a first-team selection in 2006. Sameer Kumar
Kumar, who received his degree in economics, boasted a 3.92 cumulative grade point average during his standout career. The 2019 Pac-12 Men's Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Kumar was a three-time First Team Pac-12 All-Academic selection and a three-time ITA Scholar-Athlete. Ranked in the ITA poll, Kumar finished his senior campaign with a team-best 23 wins overall. Kumar's 46 career dual victories ranks 32nd in program history. The senior captain also volunteered with East Palo Alto Tennis and Tutoring, a learning program for first- through twelfth-grade students from the community that provides academic tutoring, education and tennis instruction. Ella Eastin
The first woman in history to win four NCAA titles in the 400 individual medley, Eastin holds a 3.74 GPA as a human biology major. The Pac-12 Women's Swimming and Diving Scholar Athlete of the Year was a CoSIDA Academic All-American last year and is a three-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree. She earned six All-America honors in 2019 and led Stanford to its third straight Pac-12 and NCAA championships. A team captain, Eastin won national titles in the 400 IM and 800 free relay as well as Pac-12 titles in the 400 IM, 500 free and 200 back, and finished her career with four American, NCAA and school records. Albane Valenzuela
A political science major, Valenzuela holds a 4.02 GPA. She was named Pac-12 Women's Golfer of the Year, the first in program history to earn that distinction. She was named first team All-Pac-12 and helped lead the Cardinal to its 10th straight NCAA Championship appearance. A first team All-American, she had a scoring average of 72.36 this season with five Top-10 finishes. She posted a win at the East Lake Cup and tied for first at the Pac-12 Championship.