(SR, St. Paul, Minn./Highland Park HS) was named to the named to the Capital One Academic All-District 6 Division III Women's At-Large Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), it was announced on Thursday. Bier is a physics and chemistry major with a 4.00 grade-point average. She is planning to continue her academic career in the Ph.D program in medical physics at Duke University, and has been accepted to a summer research program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology through Augsburg's Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (URGO) department.
Bier ended her career as one of the top backstrokers in Augsburg's women's swimming and diving history. At the
2014 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships, Bier set school records in the 100-yard backstroke (1:05.78) and 200-yard backstroke (2:22.54), while also swimming backstroke legs of two medley relay school-record squads -- the 200-yard medley (1:58.53) and 400-yard medley (4:21.81). She placed 22nd as an individual in the 100-yard backstroke and 27th in the 200-yard backstroke at the MIAC Championships, while both relay squads placed ninth. She was part of an Auggie squad that had its best finish ever at the MIAC Championships in both its team finish (ninth) and point total (115).
Bier holds six of the top-10 times in school history in the 100-yard backstroke, seven of the top-10 times in the 200-yard backstroke and four of the top-10 times in the 50-yard backstroke, while she is also a part of six top-10 relay times in school history.
The Capital One Academic All-District team is part of the
Capital One Academic All-America program, as selected by
CoSIDA. Top student-athletes from Division III programs in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan are eligible for inclusion on the District 6 team. Student-athletes must have a grade-point average above 3.30 (4.0 scale) and have outstanding athletic credentials. College sports information directors in the district vote for the teams.
This is the third year of the expanded Academic All-America program, as CoSIDA has moved from recognizing a University Division (Division I) and a College Division (all non-Division I), doubling the number of scholar-athletes honored. The teams include NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III participants, while the College Division team combines NAIA, Canadian and two-year schools. First-team Academic All-District members advance to the Academic All-America ballot, voted on by a committee of CoSIDA members.
Capital One has been the entitlement rights holder to CoSIDA's Academic All-America programs since 2011. An NCAA Corporate Champion, Capital One began its affiliation with college sports with the sponsorship of the 2001 Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl (now the Capital One Bowl) and ESPN's Capital One Bowl Week. In addition, Capital One sponsors the ABC College Football Halftime Report, Capital One All-America Mascot team, Capital One Academic All Program, and supports all 89 NCAA Championships including the Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Championships, and numerous other collegiate athletics programs.
(Note: This release includes information taken from the CoSIDA Academic All-District release and previous Augsburg Academic All-District news releases.)
