Kinsell Named Academic All-America for Second-Straight Year
12/1/2006 2:28:43 PM | Football
Rick Bender
DAVIDSON, N.C. - The ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Teams were released yesterday, and Davidson's Kyle Kinsell was named to the first team for the University Division. This is the second straight year Kinsell has been selected for the first team, making him the first football player to achieve the feat and just second Wildcat in any sport to be named to the first team.
Kinsell, a 6-0, 235-pound senior defensive lineman from Chapel Hill, N.C., is a biology major with a GPA of 3.83 while minoring in economics. The product of Chapel Hill High followed up his stellar junior campaign with another strong season, ranking fourth among defensive linemen in tackles in the Pioneer Football League with 36. He also posted four tackles for a loss with a 1.5 sacks to his credit. Kinsell will finish his studies at the conclusion of the fall semester after just three and a half years.
The only other Wildcat to be a first-team Academic All-American twice was baseball player John Porter '81 in his junior and senior seasons. Just two others athletes from Davidson have garnered Academic All-America honors twice — men's basketball player Derek Rucker '88 in 1987 (second team) and 1988 (first), and baseball pitcher Wes Self '01 in 2000 (second team) and 2001 (third).
Davidson finished the 2006 season with a 6-4 record, its first winning mark in four years. And with a 5-2 record in the Pioneer Football League, the Wildcats posted five wins in conference play for just the second time in the program's history. The 1969 squad went 5-1 in the Southern Conference.
Kinsell, a 6-0, 235-pound senior defensive lineman from Chapel Hill, N.C., is a biology major with a GPA of 3.83 while minoring in economics. The product of Chapel Hill High followed up his stellar junior campaign with another strong season, ranking fourth among defensive linemen in tackles in the Pioneer Football League with 36. He also posted four tackles for a loss with a 1.5 sacks to his credit. Kinsell will finish his studies at the conclusion of the fall semester after just three and a half years.
The only other Wildcat to be a first-team Academic All-American twice was baseball player John Porter '81 in his junior and senior seasons. Just two others athletes from Davidson have garnered Academic All-America honors twice — men's basketball player Derek Rucker '88 in 1987 (second team) and 1988 (first), and baseball pitcher Wes Self '01 in 2000 (second team) and 2001 (third).
Davidson finished the 2006 season with a 6-4 record, its first winning mark in four years. And with a 5-2 record in the Pioneer Football League, the Wildcats posted five wins in conference play for just the second time in the program's history. The 1969 squad went 5-1 in the Southern Conference.
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