Barnes Earns Academic Award

Nov. 6, 2008

NORMAN, Okla. – University of Oklahoma senior libero Lacy Barnes has been named to the College Sports Information Directors of America/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District first team the organization announced Thursday afternoon. Redshirt sophomore Francie Ekwerekwu earned third team honors.

Barnes has seen action in all 23 matches for the Sooners this season and has started every match at libero. The Rose Hill, Kan. native leads OU with 3.78 digs per set and has 352 on the year. Last season, she was named to CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District second team and the Academic All-Big 12 first team. Barnes will now be considered for the Academic All-America team, scheduled to be announced on Nov. 24.

Barnes has a 3.84 grade point average and is majoring in journalism.

Ekwerekwu has seen action in all 23 matches. She leads the team in kills (239) and hitting percentage (.282). With 69 blocks on the year, 14 of those are block solos. It is the first national academic honor for the Arlington, Texas native. Last season, she was named to the Academic All-Big 12 first team. Ekwerekwu has a 3.55 in human studies.

2008 COSIDA/ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT FIRST TEAM (DISTRICT 6)

Name	School	Year	Hometown	GPA	Major
Lacy Barnes	Oklahoma	Sr.	Rose Hill, Kan.	3.84	Journalism
Jessica Boulavsky	Rice	Jr.	Houston, Texas	4.00	Pre-Medicine
Lauren DeGirolamo	LSU	Jr.	Belleville, Ill.	3.90	Mathematics
Emily Jones Wilkes	Texas State	Gr.	Arlington, Texas	3.94	Business Administration
Kelsey King	Houston	Sr.	San Antonio, Texas	3.97	Psychology
Ashley Petrinec	Southern Miss	Sr.	Bloomington, Ill.	3.94	Mathematics/Computer Science

Players Mentioned

Lacy Barnes

Francie Ekwerekwu

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics