Central’s Opsal, Fritz on academic squad
PELLA—For the third consecutive year, Central College women’s golfer Emily Opsal (senior, Verona, Wis.) was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 Women’s At-Large Team while Nathan Fritz (senior, Sigourney) became the first Dutch wrestler ever named to the men’s at-large squad.
Both are now under consideration for the CoSIDA Academic All-America team, which will be announced in June. Honorees must have a 3.20 cumulative grade point average and be a starter or top reserve to be eligible for nomination. Selections are based on a combination of academics and athletics performance.
Opsal carries a 3.97 grade point average and recently graduated with a business management major. She is a three-time American Rivers all-conference finisher, placing seventh in the league tournament last fall after finishing fourth in 2018 and ninth in 2016. She is a three-time winner of the team’s Maurine Timmer Most Valuable Player Award and was named to the WGCA All-America Scholar team and the American Rivers Academic All-Conference team in each of her first three seasons. A two-time NCAA Division III Championships participant, Opsal was Central’s team leader last fall with an 80.9 stroke average.
Fritz graduated with a 3.44 GPA and an exercise science-athletic training major. He’s a two-time NCAA Division III Championships qualifier, receive all-America distinction this year following the cancelation of the national tournament due to the COVID-19 outbreak. A two-time American Rivers all-conference honoree, Fritz posted a 24-4 record at 184 pounds this past season, placing second at the NCAA Division III Lower Midwest Regional to gain a return trip to the national meet. He received the team’s Coaches Award this year and was a four-time letter winner with an 86-28 career mark.
CoSIDA’s District 8 includes schools from most of the western U.S. Opsal was the only athlete from an Iowa school on the 12-person women’s squad. Fritz was among three conference athletes on the 16-person men’s squad. He was joined by Nebraska Wesleyan University swimmer Nolan Reid and University of Dubuque wrestler Ethan Cain.
