McAlpine Honored With Second Team Selection
University of Kentucky soccer player Ilkka Jantti has been named to the 2001Verizon Academic All-District IV first team, while teammate Chris McAlpine washonored as a second-team selection.
The team consists of athletes from the fall/winter sports of cross country, fencing,gymnastics, ice hockey, rifle, skiing, soccer, swimming, water polo and wrestling, andhonorees are selected by a district vote of the College Sports Information Directors ofAmerica based on athletic and academic accomplishments during the past season.First-team selections will appear on the national ballot, as well, which will be releasedon April 17.
Jantti, a junior management major, helped lead the Cats to an 11-9-2 record thisseason on their way to winning their first Mid-American Conference regular-season title,second straight MAC Tournament Championship, and second-consecutive NCAATournament berth. Starting all 20 of the games in which he played, Jantti was second onthe team in points with eight (three goals and two assists) and contributed to a strongdefensive unit that helped UK hold No. 9 Saint Louis scoreless and advance to thesecond round of NCAA play for the first time in school history. He was first-teamAll-MAC and All-Mideast Region and was named an honorable mention All-Americanby the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Jantti also has been a fixture on numerous academic teams since his arrival fromLahti, Finland. He has been on the Athletic Directors Honor Roll, the SoutheasternConference and MAC Academic Honor Rolls, and the Deans List, and he is also amember of the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society.
McAlpine started 13 of the 20 games in which he appeared in 2000, scoring apenalty kick on just one attempt and playing strong in the middle for one of the topdefenses in the country. His play in the MAC Tournament earned him a place on theall-tournament team, and he started both games for the Cats in the NCAA tournament.
In the classroom, McAlpine also has done well. He had been a member of theAthletic Directors Honor Roll, SEC and MAC Academic Honor Rolls, and the DeansList. He is also a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, as well as the UK Society ofCharacter. For his work on and off the field in 2000, he was named an honorablemention Regional Academic All-American by the NSCAA.
