WEST POINT - Three Army soccer players were named to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District I Team for the University Division voted upon by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
From the women's team, seniors Elizabeth Betterbed and Caitlyn Gallagher were named first and second-team honorees, respectively, while Kydes represented the men's squad on the first team as well.
For the women, it is the ninth-straight season an Army player has earned academic all-district honors, while it is the fifth time in as many years a men's player has lauded the award.
It is the second consecutive year that Betterbed has been tabbed for first team district honors while picking up her third consecutive certificate. Gallagher, a defender, was named to the second unit in her first year of receiving this honor.
A CoSIDA Academic All-American first team selection last year, Betterbed has ranked first in her class since her freshman year. The Mechanical Engineering major turned in the highest grade point average (4.235) among the student athletes for the second straight year and was one of just six to own a 4.0 GPA.
A Lowe's Senior CLASS Award finalist, Betterbed holds the second highest rank in the Corps of Cadets, which numbers 4,400, as the Deputy Brigade Commander. The three-time Patriot League academic all-star is a candidate for the league's Scholar Athlete of the Year.
As a first team selection, the native of Fox Island, Wash., who leads the team in scoring with 10 points (3 goals, 2 assists) along with two game winners, advances to the national ballot where she will be eligible once again for Academic All-America honors.
A native of Norwalk, Conn., Kydes is one of the top cadet-athletes in the Class of 2010. A Civil Engineering major, he carries a cumulative grade point average of 3.9 which includes a 4.0 academic performance score. A three-time Dean's List and Patriot League Academic Honor Roll recipient, he landed honorable mention adidas/NSCAA Scholar Athlete All-Region recognition in 2008. Kydes has also garnered the Superintendent's Award For Excellence on three occasions for ranking in the top-five percent of his class academically, physically and militarily.
Last spring, he studied abroad at Tecnologico de Monterrey, one of the top engineering schools in Mexico. Four of the five classes he took were taught completely in Spanish. He is also a member of the Phi Kappa Phi national collegiate honor society.
This past summer, he was commended by West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Franklin Hagenbeck for serving as the Close Quarters Combat Commander during cadet basic and field training. He was responsible for teaching over 2,500 incoming freshmen and rising sophomores the combatives curriculum along with supervising 30 instructors. Kydes was a squad leader in his company during the 2008-09 academic year, charged with guiding six freshmen and sophomores in their military, physical, academic and moral-ethical development.
Kydes has been a consistent starter for the Black Knight over the last four years, playing in every single game since arriving at West Point. One of the team's two starting central midfielders, he has earn three letters during his time with the squad.
A starting defender in all 39 games the past two years (21 in 2008, 18 in 2009), Gallagher has helped Army record 19 shutouts over that period. She was instrumental in helping the Black Knights record 12, one shy of the school single season record, in 2008 along with setting another with six consecutive Patriot League shutouts.
The 3.654 Engineering Management major is just one of six players to appear in all 18 games this year and is the lone one to draw starting duty in every match. The three-time Patriot League academic all-star will close out her career Saturday playing in her 66th career match.
To be nominated for the Academic All-America team, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore and be a starter or significant reserve on the team with a 3.3 cumulative grade point average. Betterbed and Kydes will now move on to the nation ballot and receive consideration for Academic All-America status, to be announced on Nov. 17.
