PHILADELPHIA – For the first time in her career, Gianna Zajac has been named a Philly-SIDA Academic All-Area Team selection, as announced on Wednesday.
 
Zajac is one of 10 athletes from the Philadelphia area to land a spot on the team that is voted on by the Philadelphia metropolitan area's 30 sports information offices. In order to be eligible for Academic All-Area, an athlete must be in his or her second year at the institution and hold a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or better.
 
This is the sixth time that a Wildcat has landed on the list since the 2005-06 season and the first time since Shiela Joyce was tabbed an All-Area selection in 2023. Villanova has been on the list in three out of the last four years.
 
The West Chester, Pa. native was named to the All-CAA team at this year's Championship where she was a part of a V8 boat that finished fourth in the Grand Final with a time of 6:59.222. She was also named to the For Stars Network Athlete Watchlist ahead of the spring.
 
Throughout her senior year, the coxswain appeared in all six events for the 'Cats, totaling 15 races almost exclusively with the V8 aside from one Championship 4s appearance at the Head of the Schuylkill to open the year. There she had two fourth-place finishes with that 4s boat (14:05.249) and in the Championship 8s (13:02.174). She and the V8 picked up a trio of wins against Lehigh's V8 at the Bucknell Invite to close the fall with the fastest showing in the head-to-head being a 3:01.27. At the Knecht Cup, the V8 crossed sixth in the Grand Final in 6:48.45 before a weekend-best time of 6:42.493 in the third round of the Lake Wheeler Invite.
 
This latest accolade adds to the numerous academic honors Zajac has received in her time on the Main Line. She has been a two-time CRCA Scholar Athlete, seven-time CAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll member and six-time member of the Athletic Director's Honor Roll here at Villanova.