Ball State University Athletics
Soccer's Chew, Benyrova Named Academic All-District
November 02, 2012 | Soccer
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Ball State defenders Skylar Chew and Pavla Benyrova have been named to the Capital One Academic All-District 5 teams for women's soccer, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Chew was named to the Academic All-District First Team, while Benyrova was tabbed with second-team honors. It is the second straight year the Cardinals have had two players recognized after Chew and Brigit Reder were both third-team selections in 2011.
Chew, who also earned second-team recognition in 2010, becomes the first Ball State women's soccer player ever to earn academic all-district honors three times. The senior psychology major from Mason, Ohio, owns a perfect 4.0 GPA and will now be on the Academic All-America ballot.
On the field, Chew started all 20 games this season on the Ball State back line and played every minute. She scored two goals, including the game-winner against Bowling Green with 35 seconds remaining in the second overtime period.
For her career, Chew ranks among Ball State's all-time leaders with 68 starts and 6,187 minutes played in a Cardinals uniform. She scored three career goals and added five assists.
Chew and Benyrova helped to anchor a stingy Ball State back line that held opponents to fewer than five shots on goal per game in 2012. Both players also played a key role in the Cardinals' five shutouts.
Benyrova, in her second year at Ball State from Prague, Czech Republic, carries a 3.97 GPA studying finance. She was also recently named to the All-Mid-American Conference Second Team.
Benyrova started all 20 games and played all but 44 minutes in the field for Ball State. She scored one goal -- the game-winner on a penalty kick against Buffalo -- and also recorded three assists on the season. Two of those assists came in Ball State's 2-1 overtime victory over Xavier.
The CoSIDA awards are broken down into eight districts with District 5 representing schools from the states of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. A total of 11 players were selected for first-team honors and 11 for second-team honors in District 5.
The teams are chosen based on academic and athletic achievements. All first-team selections are placed on the ballot for Academic All-America voting.
