68 Student-Athletes Named to NESCAC’s Fall All-Academic Team

Sixty-eight Wesleyan student-athletes were honored for their excellence in the classroom when the New England Small College Athletic Contest (NESCAC) announced its 2016 Fall All-Academic Team. Nine others were named to the All-Sportsmanship Team.

To be honored on the All-Academic Team, a student-athlete must have reached sophomore academic standing and be a varsity letter winner with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.40. A transfer student must have completed one year of study at the institution.

The women’s soccer team led the way for Wesleyan with 14 selections, followed by men’s soccer with 12, golf with nine and football with eight. The cross country teams put a combined 14 student-athletes on the list, while field hockey and volleyball had seven and four All-Academic honorees, respectively.

“The Wesleyan Athletics pursuit of excellence ideology extends beyond performance in an individual’s sport and I’m extremely proud of the accomplishments of our student-athletes, especially those who also excel in the classroom,” said Director of Athletics Mike Whalen. “Our coaches seek student-athletes who demonstrate equal passion and commitment to academic challenges as they do for winning a NESCAC or Little 3 championship.”

The All-Sportsmanship Team is composed of one student-athlete from each institution for each sport, and is selected by the players and coaches from their respective team for their positive contributions to sportsmanship. It recognizes student-athletes from each varsity sport who have demonstrated outstanding dedication to sportsmanship. These student-athletes exhibit respect for themselves, teammates, coaches, opponents and spectators. They display sportsmanship not only as a participant in their sport but also as a spectator and in their everyday lives.

Representing the Cardinals on the All-Sportsmanship Team are Will Dudek ’17 (Men’s Cross Country), Joie Akerson ’17 (Women’s Cross Country), Saadia Naeem ’20 (Women’s Golf), Zach Lambros ’17 (Men’s Golf), Colleen Lynch ’17 (Field Hockey), Lou Stevens ’17 (Football), Jack Katkavich ’17 (Men’s Soccer), Sarah Sylla ’17 (Women’s Soccer), and Rachel Savage ’17 (Volleyball).

Akerson, Dudek, Lambros, Lynch, Savage and Sylla highlighted the list for Wesleyan, as they garnered both All-Sportsmanship and All-Academic awards.

Founded in 1971, the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) consists of 11 liberal arts colleges and has consistently reflected its commitment to the values of athletics and academic achievement. The member colleges of the conference are Wesleyan, Amherst College, Bates College, Bowdoin College, Colby College, Connecticut College, Hamilton College, Middlebury College, Trinity College, Tufts University and Williams College.

To view the Fall 2016 sports season highlights, see this story.

The new NESCAC All-Academic students are listed below: