University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: UNC NEWS SERVICES
Eight Tar Heels Earn Academic All-District Honors
May 23, 2023 | Men's Lacrosse, Women's Golf, Women's Gymnastics, Women's Lacrosse, Women's Rowing, Fencing, Academics
Eight Tar Heels have earned Academic All-District honors as part of the men's and women's at-large teams, College Sports Communicators announced on Tuesday. Paul Barton (men's lacrosse), Elizabeth Culton (gymnastics), Jessica Judge (rowing), Krista Junkkari (women's golf), Emily Nalls (women's lacrosse), Will Palazzolo (men's fencing), Henry Shugart (men's fencing) and P.J. Zinsner (men's lacrosse) were recognized for academic and athletic success.
Culton, Judge, Junkkari, Palazzolo, Shugart and Zinsner were recognized earlier this month as Top 10 Scholar-Athletes, an award given to UNC's graduating student-athletes with the 10 highest grade point averages.
The CSC All-District at-large teams include student-athletes from the sports of beach volleyball, bowling, rowing, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, men's volleyball, water polo and wrestling.
All-District honorees are now in the running for Academic All-America honors, which will be announced next month.
Barton is a sophomore defenseman from Palo Alto and has started every game in the past two seasons. A business administration major, he earned honorable mention All-America honors in 2023.
Culton is from Durham, N.C., and was a first-team All-EAGL honoree on bars and beam as a senior. A psychology major, she was one of UNC's four ACC Postgraduate Scholarship recipients for 2022-23.
Judge is a senior from Raleigh, N.C., and rowed in both the varsity eight and second varsity eight for UNC during the 2023 season. She majored in information science and minored in statistics and analytics.
A psychology/exercise and sport science double major, Junkkari is a senior from Elimäki, Finland, who finished her Tar Heel career with a 73.89 career scoring average. As a junior, she tied the school single-season record with a scoring average of 73.00.
Nalls is a defender from Glenwood, Md., who earned All-ACC and second-team All-America honors as a senior. A business administration major, she was a top-25 nominee for the 2023 Tewaaraton Award, which goes to the national player of the year.
Palazzolo is a senior from Rockville Centre, N.Y. and majored in business administration with minors in statistics & analytics and data science. A fourth-year member of the team, he earned All-ACC Academic honors for 2022-23, when he placed 14th at ACC Championships.
Shugart is a senior from Denver, Colo., who was named to the 2023 U.S. Fencing Coaches Association Mid-Atlantic/South All-Region second team for men's epee. A mathematics/statistics & analytics double major with a minor in data science, he earned All-ACC Academic honors in 2022-23 for the third time in his career.
Zinsner, an economics and mathematics double major, is a senior midfielder from Alexandria, Va. He appeared in 10 games for Carolina in 2023. In 2021, he became the first player in program history to earn NCAA Elite 90 recognition, which goes to the player at the final four with the highest GPA.
Culton, Judge, Junkkari, Palazzolo, Shugart and Zinsner were recognized earlier this month as Top 10 Scholar-Athletes, an award given to UNC's graduating student-athletes with the 10 highest grade point averages.
The CSC All-District at-large teams include student-athletes from the sports of beach volleyball, bowling, rowing, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, men's volleyball, water polo and wrestling.
All-District honorees are now in the running for Academic All-America honors, which will be announced next month.
Barton is a sophomore defenseman from Palo Alto and has started every game in the past two seasons. A business administration major, he earned honorable mention All-America honors in 2023.
Culton is from Durham, N.C., and was a first-team All-EAGL honoree on bars and beam as a senior. A psychology major, she was one of UNC's four ACC Postgraduate Scholarship recipients for 2022-23.
Judge is a senior from Raleigh, N.C., and rowed in both the varsity eight and second varsity eight for UNC during the 2023 season. She majored in information science and minored in statistics and analytics.
A psychology/exercise and sport science double major, Junkkari is a senior from Elimäki, Finland, who finished her Tar Heel career with a 73.89 career scoring average. As a junior, she tied the school single-season record with a scoring average of 73.00.
Nalls is a defender from Glenwood, Md., who earned All-ACC and second-team All-America honors as a senior. A business administration major, she was a top-25 nominee for the 2023 Tewaaraton Award, which goes to the national player of the year.
Palazzolo is a senior from Rockville Centre, N.Y. and majored in business administration with minors in statistics & analytics and data science. A fourth-year member of the team, he earned All-ACC Academic honors for 2022-23, when he placed 14th at ACC Championships.
Shugart is a senior from Denver, Colo., who was named to the 2023 U.S. Fencing Coaches Association Mid-Atlantic/South All-Region second team for men's epee. A mathematics/statistics & analytics double major with a minor in data science, he earned All-ACC Academic honors in 2022-23 for the third time in his career.
Zinsner, an economics and mathematics double major, is a senior midfielder from Alexandria, Va. He appeared in 10 games for Carolina in 2023. In 2021, he became the first player in program history to earn NCAA Elite 90 recognition, which goes to the player at the final four with the highest GPA.
Players Mentioned
Defenseman
/ Men's Lacrosse
AA
/ Women's Gymnastics
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Golf
Defender
/ Women's Lacrosse
Foil/Right Hand
/ Fencing
Epee/Right Hand
/ Fencing
Midfielder
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