DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke men's lacrosse player CJ Costabile, women's diver Jessica Lyden and women's fencer Becca Ward were named to the Capital One Academic All-America At-Large Team, CoSIDA announced on Thursday.

CJ Costabile, a longstick midfielder for the Blue Devils, is the third Duke men's lacrosse player to earn the honor in program history.

The Capital One Academic All-America® Men's At-Large program includes the sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis, water polo and wrestling.

Costabile is one of three men's lacrosse players represented among the three teams and the only one from the ACC selected. He joins former Blue Devils Max Quinzani, a three-time selection, and Ed Douglas as recipients of the Academic All-America honor.

A four-time All-America choice, Costabile collected a bevy of honors in 2012. The New Fairfield, Conn., native was an All-America first team pick and was awarded the Lt. j.g. Donald MacLaughlin Jr. Award as the nation's top midfielder. He was selected to the All-America third team in 2010 and 2011 and was an honorable mention choice in 2009.

Costabile, the 2012 ACC-Co Defensive Player of the Year and two-time All-ACC choice, has helped anchor Duke's faceoff game and defense throughout his career. He helped guide Duke to its sixth straight NCAA semifinal in 2012 with a career-high 15 ground balls and 14 faceoff victories in the 17-6 win over Colgate. Overall, Costabile led the ACC and ranked seventh nationally in ground balls with 7.2 per game and finished the season with 144 overall. His 376 career ground balls are the most in Duke history as he surpassed goaltender Joe Kirmser's 327 ground balls in the ACC semifinal win over Maryland.

A USILA Scholar All-American as well, Costabile picked up at least five ground balls in 17 of his 20 games in 2012 and has nine-plus pickups in six contests. He has had equal success at the X in 2012, winning at least 50 percent of his draws 11 times. He finished the 2012 campaign winning 143-of-272 (.526) draws. Defensively Costabile has been outstanding as well, ranking second on the team with 19 caused turnovers, including a season-best three in Duke's come-from-behind win over Marist.

Equally as dangerous on the offensive end, Costabile finished his career with an impressive 22 goals and 20 assists for 42 points, including the overtime game-winner in the 2010 NCAA Championship game.

Duke finished the season with a 15-5 overall record and advanced to the NCAA semifinals for the sixth consecutive season. The Blue Devils captured the ACC regular season and ACC Tournament crowns for the fourth time since 2007.

 

Jessica Lyden, who graduated in May with a degree in psychology, is the first member of the Duke Swimming & Diving program to garner Academic All-America First Team honors.

A native of Lexington, Ky., Lyden joins Katie Ness (Second Team, 2006) as the only other Duke swimmer or diver to earn Academic All-America recognition. Lyden was also selected to the Capital One Academic All-District III Women's At-Large Team in May and has been named to the All-ACC Academic Team twice in her career. She is a three-time ACC Academic Honor Roll selection and boasts a 3.95 GPA. 

Lyden closed out her four years at Duke by capturing the 2012 ACC title in women's 3-meter springboard diving, earning the first All-ACC honors of her career. She also notched a ninth-place finish on the 3-meter board at this year's NCAA Zone B Diving Championships and won the same event at the 2011 Nike Cup Invitational. Lyden owns personal-best scores of 325.45 on the 1-meter board and 365.95 at the 3-meter height.

 

Becca Ward became the Duke fencing program's first Academic All-America first team selection on Thursday when she appeared on the Capital One Academic All-America Women's At-Large team.

Ward won the 2009, 2011 and 2012 NCAA Women's Saber Championships and also took second place in the 2010 NCAA final. A four-time All-America selection, she is the first Duke women's fencer to earn Academic All-America honors and the first Duke fencer to receive first team recognition. She graduated with a 3.52 grade point average as a public policy major.

A bronze medalist at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Ward leaves Duke University as one of the most decorated student-athletes in school history. The Academic All-America first team selection is the latest in a number of accolades for the Portland, Ore., native, adding to a list that includes NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient, ACC Postgraduate Scholarship recipient, two CoSIDA Academic All-District III citations and the honor of Duke Female Student-Athlete of the Year.

Ward finished her four-year Duke career with a 272-7 (.975) record, setting the program record for career wins and wins in a season. During her four years in Durham, she took the Duke fencing program to new heights, leading the Blue Devils to a 10th-place NCAA finish in 2010, ninth place in 2011 and ninth place again in 2012 for the program's first top-10 finishes. Additionally, the Duke women's fencing team set school wins records during her final three years and cracked the USFCA Coaches Poll Top-10 this season.

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