June 7, 2011

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Tibor Forai became the 10th LMU student-athlete in the school's history to be awarded Capital One Academic All-America® as he earned second-team honors on the 2011 Men's At-Large Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

As one of the first players in LMU history to earn All-American honors in his sport all four years by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC), gives LMU back-to-back Academic All-America® winners for the first time in school history. Jennifer Nayudu from softball was the ninth winner in 2010.

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

To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.

It was a record setting year for the Natural Science (pre-medicine) major, who also earned a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship in the fall.

Forai finished the season with 50 goals, 15 assists and 33 steals and became one of the first student-athletes in LMU history to earn All-America honors all four seasons of competition. He won four consecutive WWPA titles and four straight trips to the NCAAs in his career at LMU. He was a four-time All-WWPA selection, a three-time NCAA All-Tournament team selection, a three-time WWPA All-Tournament selection including MVP in 2007, and a four-time All-Academic selection.

He ranks fourth all-time with 193 goals, eighth with 79 career assists and 10th with 100 career steals. He was a 2011 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winner while also serving as a research assistant for Organic Chemistry and Physics T.A.

LMU Academic All-Americans
Steve Smith, Men's Basketball (1973)
Dean Jelmini, Baseball (1973)
Anthony Napolitano, Baseball (1994)
Sandor Demosthenes, Baseball (1996)
Heather Hollis, Softball (1999)
Jeff Kovar, Men's Soccer (2002)
Laura Mickelson, Women's Cross Country/Track (2007)
Stacia Peterson, Women's Water Polo (2007)
Jennifer Nayudu, Softball (2010)
Tibor Forai, Men's Water Polo (2011)