MIT Student-Athletes Receive Academic All- America Recognition
Praveen Pamidimukkala ’08, Doria M. Holbrook ’08, and Julia C. Zimmerman ’09 earned College Sports Information Directors Association/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America accolades in the competitive at-large division to give the Engineers eight national plaudits for the 2007–08 academic year. Pamidimukkala received the first honor in the history of the men’s volleyball program, while Holbrook collected her third straight award as a member of the women’s swimming and diving team. Zimmerman was also a repeat selection for the women’s gymnastics team.
Pamidimukkala was MIT’s lone representative on the men’s at-large squad as he was voted to the Third Team. The only player in the program’s history to earn American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America accolades, he earned Second Team recognition during his sophomore and senior seasons. A Northeast Collegiate Volleyball Association All-Conference First Team pick, Pamidimukkala was named the NECVA New England Division Player of the Year and received All-Division First Team honors. The senior closed his career as MIT’s all-time leader in kills (1,949), aces in a season (48), career aces (151), and career solo blocks (69).
Holbrook was awarded First Team honors, making her the third person in MIT’s history to earn three consecutive awards in a single sport. Previously a Second and Third Team selection, she has captured three out of the four accolades for the women’s swimming and diving team. Holbrook is a two-time national champion, an eight-time All-America recipient, and the winner of three New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference Diver of the Year accolades. She established an NCAA open record in three-meter diving at the 2008 NEWMAC Championships and holds NEWMAC open and championship records in one- and three-meter diving. Holbrook has collected five NEWMAC crowns and was the only Division III athlete to qualify for the 2008 U.S. National Spring Diving Championships.
Zimmerman made her second straight appearance on the First Team and was one of six athletes to have a perfect grade point average. She notched First Team All-America performances on the beam, vault, floor, and all-around at the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association National Championship, which raised her career total to nine All-America accolades. A two-time national champion, Zimmerman holds Institute records in four out of five events.