April 16, 2001
GREENVILLE, SC -- Furman men's soccer player Scott Blount and cross country runner Yuri Van der Heijden were named to the 2001 Verizon Academic All America Fall/Winter At Large Team this week. Blount was selected to the second team, while Van der Heijden is a third team choice.
One of the most selective Verizon Academic teams, the At-Large Team consists of the top student-athletes in swimming, cross country, soccer, and field hockey, as well as other fall and winter sports (other than basketball and volleyball). Blount and Van der Heijden were the only Southern Conference athletes selected to the teams.
Blount's selection to this team further adds to a long list of academic awards for the senior goalkeeper from Brentwood, Tenn. In addition to making the first team Verizon all-district III squad, Blount was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Scholar All America First Team. The award honors Blount as the top all-around goalkeeper in college soccer. In addition, Blount earned second team All America honors a year ago and is a two-time NSCAA First Team Scholar Athlete regional award winner.
Blount is a junior Economics and Business Administration major from Brentwood, Tenn., with a 3.51 Grade Point Average (GPA). He has been Furmanıs starting goalkeeper for the past two seasons and has tallied a 0.78 Goals Against Average over his career. In his two years as Furmanıs starting goalkeeper, the Paladins have enjoyed the strongest two-year stretch in the programıs history with two NCAA Tournament appearances including a quarterfinal appearance in 1999 and two national top 15 finishes.
Van der Heijden, a senior from Lilburn, Ga., holds one of the top GPA's in the entire student body as a biology major with a 3.97 GPA. He is one of the top runners at Furman and is a team captain this year. Van der Heijden chairs the Furman University Student Advisory Committee and is a recipient of the Furman Bisher Scholarship, which recognizes both athletics and academic accomplishments.
He is also the 2001 Dave Hart Graduate Scholarship recipient. The Dave Hart Graduate Scholarship is a $2,000 scholarship awarded annually to a deserving Southern Conference male student-athlete who is interested in continuing his education in graduate school.