STANFORD, Calif. — A pair of first time Academic All-America selections were handed out by College Sports Communicators (CSC) on Tuesday morning. Two Stanford standouts earned Academic All-America third honors: Xolani Hodel (beach volleyball) and Chloe Widner (women’s gymnastics).
Hodel’s selection is the first in Stanford beach volleyball history, while Widner becomes just the second from women’s gymnastics to earn Academic All-America status, joining Shona Morgan in 2014.
During what was arguably the most successful season in Stanford beach volleyball history, Hodel was at the front of it all, becoming Stanford’s first-ever four-time All-Pac-12 first team selection. She capped off her season with a pair of wins in the NCAA championship to finish 26-10, which puts her at 90 career wins, the second most in program history. Following the season, Hodel was one of three Cardinal named to the USAV Beach Collegiate National Team. A four-time AVCA All-America selection, Hodel graduated Stanford with a 3.68 grade point average as a product design major.
Without the efforts of Chloe Widner, Stanford women’s gymnastics would not have reached the NCAA championship. She helped secure a second-place finish for the Cardinal at the NCAA Regional Finals with her first career 10.000 on the floor after Stanford trailed heading into the final rotation. It was the next in a long line of accomplishments for the fifth-year senior, who earned Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) First Team All-America honors as well as Pac-12 Specialist of the Year. She concludes her Stanford career with a 3.62 grade point average as a product design major.
Stanford has earned 12 total Academic All-America awards from female student-athletes during the 2023-24 year, producing a grand total of 25 through Tuesday’s announcement.