GORHAM, Maine –  Thirty-nine University of Southern Maine Huskies' Fall sport student-athletes have been recognized by the Little East Conference for their outstanding academic achievements earning a spot on the 2021 Little East Conference Fall All-Academic Team. Students from seven of Southern Maine's Little East Conference sponsored teams have representatives on the academic squad: men's cross country, women's cross country, field hockey, golf, men's soccer, women's soccer, and women's volleyball.

To earn the distinguished award, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore in standing both academically and athletically, have on cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher through the previous semester, and have been at their current institution for at least one full academic year.

"The rigorous academic responsibilities and daily commitments and challenges of being a student-athlete require discipline and effort.  Each of these student-athletes has performed exceptionally at that task. On behalf of the University of Southern Maine Department of Athletics, I extend our congratulations and thanks to each of these students for wearing their Husky uniform with pride, outstanding character and for achieving academic and athletic distinction," said USM Director of Athletics Al Bean.   

Seventeen different University of Southern Maine majors are represented by the Huskies' 39 Fall LEC All-Academic team roster, including 10 Nursing, four Health Science, four Biology, three Business Management,  two Marketing, two Athletic Training majors.  The rest of the Huskies' All-Academic selections come from  Sports Management, History, Psychology, Mathematics, Art, Mechanical Engineering, Finance, Exercise Science, Social Work and graduate work in Leadership Studies.   Twenty-five of the Huskies' fall all-academic award winners have at least a 3.5 grade-point average, and 14 student-athletes have a 3.7 or higher.  Seven members of Southern Maine's All-Academic contingent have a 3.9 or higher GPA.  Four members of the Huskies' field hockey team have at least a 3.9, including junior Mackenzie Banks (Belfast, Maine), and sophomores Chloe Arsenault (Boothbay, Maine), Hannah Banks (Belfast, Maine), Brooke Carson (Bryant Pond, Maine) and Jordan Cummings (Auburn, Maine).

Among the members of the 2021 LEC Fall All-Academic team are several all-conference selections from their respective sports.  Women's soccer's all-time leader in points and goal scored Ciera Berthiaume (Windham, Maine) earns the academic distinction and was a first-team All-LEC pick at the conclusion of the 2021 season, while first team all-conference midfielder Hannah Banks also earned the honor. 

Fully embracing the NCAA Division III philosophy and its commitment to academics and the full student-athlete experience, the University of Southern Maine Department of Athletics supports nearly 500 student-athletes, who have a combined grade point average of 3.24. This December, Huskies' athletics will recognize 215 student-athletes with its William B. Wise Scholar-Athlete distinction (given to those who have achieved a 3.0 GPA or higher during the previous academic year).
 

Men's Cross Country
Name	Class	Institution	Major	Hometown
Masho Gebremikael	Sr.	Southern Maine	Athletic Training	Portland, Maine
Jack Pecoraro	So.	Southern Maine	History	Westbrook, Maine
Women's Cross Country
Name	Class	Institution	Major	Hometown
Vanessa DiRisi	So.	Southern Maine	Biology	Scarborough, Maine
Amy Forester	So.	Southern Maine	Nursing	York, Maine
Maddie Fornaiser	Jr.	Southern Maine	Nursing	Southern Burlington, Vt.
Rachael Raymond	Sr.	Southern Maine	Art	East Waterboro, Maine
Jillian Taylor	Jr.	Southern Maine	Nursing	Hermon, Maine
Field Hockey
Name	Class	Institution	Major	Hometown
Chloe Arsenault	So.	Southern Maine	Biology	Boothbay, Maine
Hannah Banks	So,	Southern Maine	Business Management	Belfast, Maine
Mackenzie Banks	Jr.	Southern Maine	Business Management	Belfast, Maine
Brooke Carson	So.	Southern Maine	Marketing	Bryant Pond, Maine
Jordan Cummings	So.	Southern Maine	Health Sciences	Auburn, Maine
Johanna Daigle	So.	Southern Maine	Health Sciences	Ashburnham, Mass.
Samantha Ellis	Sr.	Southern Maine	Nursing	New Vineyard, Maine
Mary Keef	So.	Southern Maine	Finance	Westbrook, Maine
Julianna Kiklis	Jr.	Southern Maine	Business Management	York, Maine
Men's Golf
Name	Class	Institution	Major	Hometown
Zach Ellsworth	So.	Southern Maine	Sports Management	Saranac Lake, N.Y.
Men's Soccer
Name	Class	Institution	Major	Hometown
Yahya Altaie	So.	Southern Maine	Undeclared	Westbrook, Maine
Ronan Hume	Jr.	Southern Maine	Nursing	Marshfield, Mass.
Ali Jimale	Jr.	Southern Maine	Mathematics	Portland, Maine
Jacob Statires	Jr.	Southern Maine	Psychology	Hampton, N.H.
Kevin Voter	Jr.	Southern Maine	Mechanical Engineering	Sanford, Maine
Women's Soccer
Name	Class	Institution	Major	Hometown
Alex Allain	Sr.	Southern Maine	Nursing	Carmel, Maine
Bre Atwood	So.	Southern Maine	Exercise Science	Franklin, Mass.
Ciera Berthiaume	Gr.	Southern Maine	Leadership Studies (grad); English (undergrad)	Windham, Maine
Katherine Clancy	So.	Southern Maine	Nursing	North Yarmouth, Maine
Meghan Galante	Jr.	Southern Maine	Biology	Freeport, Maine
Kiaya Gatchell	So.	Southern Maine	Undeclared	Portland, Maine
Catriona Gould	So.	Southern Maine	Biology	Freeport, Maine
Sarah Lowell	So.	Southern Maine	Nursing	Oakland, Maine
Katie Lynch	Jr.	Southern Maine	Marketing	Bellingham, Mass.
Mia Sargent	So.	Southern Maine	Biology	Portland, Maine
Billie Walter	So.	Southern Maine	Social Work	Brunswick, Maine
Women's Volleyball
Name	Class	Institution	Major	Hometown
Sierra Castonguay	So.	Southern Maine	Health Sciences	Nottingham, N.H.
Brianna Delloiacono	So.	Southern Maine	Nursing	Moodus, Conn.
Kailey Foley	So.	Southern Maine	Health Sciences	New Gloucester, Maine
Sophia Lindsay	Sr.	Southern Maine	Athletic Training	Sierra Madre, Calif.
Tori McMahon	So.	Southern Maine	Nursing	Wappingers Falls, N.Y.
Sophia Slovenski	Jr.	Southern Maine	Health Sciences	Cape Neddick, Maine