Nick Ludka was recognized with Academic All-America honors on Wednesday as the recently graduated golfer was selected to the 2018-19 Google Cloud Academic All-America Division III At-Large Second Team. Ludka is the first golfer in Kalamazoo College history to be selected as an Academic All-American by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America). He earned Academic All-District honors in May. Ludka graduated with a 3.98 GPA as a chemistry and pre-med major.
A native of Saginaw, Mich. (Nouvel Catholica HS), Ludka garnered numerous awards during his senior year. He led the Hornets with a 74.1 average this season and was second in the league with a 70.8 average in conference matches during the fall, highlighted by a round of 68 at the MIAA Fall Tournament leading to medalist honors at that event. Ludka earned All-MIAA First Team honors as well as the MIAA's Sportsmanship Award.
Ludka's medalist honors at the MIAA Spring Qualifier helped the Hornets to a second-place finish, just four team strokes out of first place. He earned MIAA Golfer of the Week honors three times this season and was the only NCAA Division III finalist for the GCAA's prestigious Byron Nelson Award.
Ludka's season average of 74.1 tied the school record. His average of 70.8 in league play broke the previous school record by nearly three strokes per round. Nick also holds the school record for career MIAA average (74.4) while ranking third in overall career average (75.4).
The "At-Large" program recognizes student-athletes from among 12 different sports. Ludka is one of just three men's golfers in NCAA Division III to be selected as an Academic All-American.