GORHAM, Maine –  Twenty-five University of Southern Maine Huskies' Winter 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 Winter All-Academic Team. Students from each of Southern Maine's four Little East Conference sponsored teams have representatives on the academic squad: men's basketball, women's basketball, men's indoor track & field and women's indoor track & field. The Fall All-Academic Team was announced earlier this year and 33 Huskies representing all eight of USM's LEC sponsored sports were recognized.  The LEC Spring All-Academic Team will be announced at the conclusion of the spring championship season.

            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.

            "Our student-athletes commitment to their sport and education is evident by our strong representation on numerous academic award rosters," said Director of Athletics Al Bean. "The Department of Athletics is proud of our student-athletes and their ability to excel academically and athletically while navigating unique and challenging circumstances related to COVID-19, their rigorous academic responsibilities and the commitment and challenges of being a student-athlete.  Their achievements in and out of competition speak to the quality of character that is representative of a USM student-athletes.  I extend my congratulations and thanks to each of these students for wearing their Husky uniform with academic and athletic distinction."
Fifteen different University of Southern Maine majors are represented by the Huskies' 25 Winter LEC All-Academic team roster, including six Nursing, three Health Science, two Business Management, two Accounting, and two Cyber Security majors.  The rest of the Huskies' All-Academic selections come from Athletic Training, Art, Art Education, Biochemistry, Exercise Science, History, Leadership Studies, Marketing, Sports Management and STEM with Elementary Education.

Twenty of the Huskies' winter all-academic award winners have at least a 3.5 grade-point average, and 15 student-athletes have a 3.7 or higher.  One Husky, junior women's indoor track & field student athlete and Exercise Science major Sophia Slovenski (Cape Neddick, Maine) earned a 4.0 GPA – and is one of just five student-athletes in LEC to achieve the distinction while participating in a winter sport.  Five members of the Husky winter sports teams have at least a 3.9 GPA: senior Morgan Eliasen (Lewiston, Maine), junior Michelle Rowe (Gorham, Maine) and sophomore Meg Kelly (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) of the women's basketball team and Mackenzie Banks (Belfast, Maine) and Taylor Chamberlain (Lewiston, Maine) of the women's indoor track & field team.  Eliasen and Rowe are Nursing majors, Kelly is studying accounting, Banks is majoring in Sports Management and Chamberlain is earning her degree in Biochemistry.  The Huskies' women's basketball team placed 10 of its 15 member roster on the All-Academic squad, while the women's indoor track & field team had nine.

            Among the members of the 2021 Winter All-Academic team are senior NCAA Division III All-American Zach Hoyle (Sidney, Maine/Messalonskee), a history major and member of the Huskies' cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field teams; a previous All-LEC guard and Paula Hodgdon Leadership Award winner Jackie Luckhardt (Londonderry, N.H.), a graduate student in the Leadership Studies program and member of the women's basketball team; senior Keenan Hendricks (Owls Head, Maine), a three-year captain of the men's basketball team and a triple major in Business Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship, and Slovenski, previously mentioned as a 4.0 student in exercise science, is a 2020 USTFCCCA All-American in the pole vault. 

            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 3.133.  This December, Huskies' athletics recognized a record 259 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). And this fall, USM's student-athletes combined for a department GPA of 3.63.
 
 
 
2021 Little East Conference Winter All-Academic Teams
 

Men's Basketball
Institution	Name	Class	Major		Hometown
Southern Maine	Keenan Hendricks	Sr.	Business Management, Marketing, Entrepreneurship.		Owls Head, Maine
Women's Basketball
Southern Maine	Samantha Averill	So.	Health Sciences		Steep Falls, Maine
Southern Maine	Katie Bagely	Jr.	Health Sciences		Hancock, Maine
Southern Maine	Kristen Curley	Sr.	Marketing		Gorham, Maine
Southern Maine	Brittany Desjardin	So.	Business Management		Gorham, Maine
Southern Maine	Morgan Eliasen	Sr.	Nursing		Lewiston, Maine
Southern Maine	Meg Kelly	So.	Accounting		Portland, Maine
Southern Maine	Megan King	So.	STEM with Elementary Education		Derry, N.H.
Southern Maine	Jackie Luckhardt	Gr.	Leadership Studies		Londonderry, N.H.
Southern Maine	Michelle Rowe	Jr.	Nursing		Gorham, Maine
Southern Maine	Mary Toman	Sr.	Nursing		Gardiner, Maine
Men's Indoor Track & Field
Southern Maine	Trent Dexter	Sr.	Accounting		New Gloucester, Maine
Southern Maine	Michael Geary	Jr.	Cyber Security		North Yarmouth, Maine
Southern Maine	Masho Gebremikael	Sr.	Athletic Training		Portland, Maine
Southern Maine	Jaequan Grant	Jr.	Cyber Security		East Granby, Conn.
Southern Maine	Zachariah Hoyle	Sr.	History		Sidney, Maine
Women's Indoor Track & Field
Southern Maine	Mackenzie Banks	So.	Sports Management	Belfast, Maine
Southern Maine	Taylor Chamberlain	Jr.	Biochemistry	Lewiston, Maine
Southern Maine	Catherine Close	Jr.	Nursing	Orleans, Vt.
Southern Maine	Emily Colby	Jr.	Health Sciences	Lunenburg, Vt.
Southern Maine	Maddie Fornasier	So.	Nursing	South Burlington, Vt.
Southern Maine	Ana Hewett	So.	Nursing	Sidney, Maine
Southern Maine	Rachael Raymond	Jr.	Art	East Waterboro, Maine
Southern Maine	Olivia Richmond	Jr.	Art Education	Jefferson, Maine
Southern Maine	Sophia Slovenski	Jr.	Exercise Science	Cape Neddick, Maine