GORHAM, Maine  – Sixty-four University of Southern Maine spring sport student-athletes were announced as part of the 2022 Little East Conference All-Academic Team.  Students from each of Southern Maine's seven Little East Conference sponsored teams have representatives on the academic squad: baseball, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, softball, men's tennis, men's outdoor track & field and women's outdoor track & field.
 
To earn the distinguished award, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore in standing both academically and athletically, have a 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.
 
"Being a student-athlete requires a great deal of discipline and effort," said USM Director of Athletics Al Bean. "Each of these student-athletes has performed exceptionally in the classroom and on the field of competition. 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."
 
With a diverse set of academic interests, 25 different University of Southern Maine majors are represented by the Huskies' 64 Spring LEC All-Academic team roster with Nursing and Business Management degrees leading the way with 11 student-athletes in each program.  Other majors include Art, Music Education, Health Sciences, Athletic Training, Marketing, Mechanical Engineering, Master's Degree in Education, Biology, Communications, Cyber Security and more.
 
Among the 64 Huskies recognized are baseball senior Jason Komulainen (Gorham, Maine), women's lacrosse sophomore Cece Racine (Lewiston, Maine), softball sophomore Belle Snyder (Epping, N.H.), men's track & field graduate student C.J. Moody (Old Town, Maine) and women's track & field junior Sophia Slovenski (Cape Neddick, Maine).
 
Komulainen earned All-LEC honors for the first time in his career in 2022, after hitting a career-best .329 (52-for-158). The Huskies' senior has also established career marks in RBI (31), home runs (3), and doubles (12).  Defensively, Komulainen has been solid fielding his position well (.991) with 25 assists and 293 put outs. He has thrown out 10 would-be base stealers. 
 
Racine had a breakout season for the Huskies' women's lacrosse team earning first team all-conference honors.  In her first season starting in goal for the Huskies, Racine set a new program record after posting a .558 save percentage. This mark is the fourth-best in Division III this season. In total, Racine allowed just 8.20 goals per game and made 154 saves on the season. Her goals against average and save percentage both lead the conference among starting goalies.
 
Snyder became the 24^th Husky softball player to earn National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region honors after a standout sophomore season, which including first team All-LEC honors for the utility/pitcher. Snyder hit .300 (24-for-80) with 24 runs scored. Against conference opponents, Snyder was an outstanding .382 (13-for-34) with 10 runs scored. With an on-base/slugging percentage of .649, Snyder's speed made her a constant threat on the base path. One of three Huskies with double-digit stolen bases in 2022, Snyder was a perfect 11-for-11 in stolen base attempts, including a 6-for-6 mark against LEC competition. In the circle, Snyder was 9-5 overall with a pair of saves, firing 108.2 innings with a 2.24 earned run average. 
 
Recently named to the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Region team, Moody completed his outstanding career as a multi-event athlete for the Huskies.  Placing tenth at the 2022 NCAA Division III National Championship meet, Moody is a four-time NCAA qualifier, a 2019 NCAA All-American (heptathlon), a 2020 United States Track & Field, Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-American, and a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American.
 
Slovenski helped USM to its 21^st Little East Conference Outdoor Track & Field title this spring and was recently named USTFCCCA All-Region in the pole vault.  The 2021 NCAA National Champion in the javelin, Slovenski is a three-time All-American. 
 
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 ~450 student-athletes, who have a combined grade point average of 3.18 at the conclusion of this academic cycle. 
 
2022 Little East Conference Spring All-Academic Teams

Baseball
Name	Class	Major	Hometown
Rodney Bean	So.	Business Management	Norway, Maine
Ethan Brown	So.	Business Management	Auburn, Mane
Matthew Burnett	So.	Business Management	Ellsworth, Maine
Joshua Joy	Sr.	Business Management	Smithfield, Maine
Jason Komulainen	Sr.	Business Management	Gorham, Maine
Janek Luksza	So.	Business Management	South Paris, Maine
Brogan Searle-Belanger	Sr.	Chemistry	Saco, Maine
Cam Seymour	So.	Sport Management	Saco, Maine
Cameron Slicer	So.	Health Sciences	Waterford, Maine
Wyatt Williamson	So.	Business Management	Bryant Pond, Maine
Men's Lacrosse
Name	Class	Major	Hometown
Nathan Plourde	So.	Music Education	Otisfield, Maine
Women's Lacrosse
Name	Class	Major	Hometown
Jennifer Darasz	Gr.	Master's in Education	Gorham, Maine
Evelyn Hinkley	Sr.	Business Management	West Gardiner, Maine
Maeve McGarrity	Jr.	Communications	Scarborough, Maine
Jillian Nichols	So.	Undeclared	Gorham, Maine
Cece Racine	So.	Nursing	Lewiston, Maine
Softball
Name	Class	Major	Hometown
Jordan Cummings	So.	Health Sciences	Auburn, Maine
Madeline Darling	So.	Elementary Education	Lovell, Maine
Madison Day	So.	Sports Management	Otisfield, Maine
Samantha Hauck	Sr.	Sports Management	Painted Post, NY
Brynn Hink	Sr.	Sports Management	Porter, Maine
Alexandria Mailhiot	So.	Nursing	Goffstown, NH
Lauren Merrill	So.	Nursing	Bethel, Maine
Lauren Miller	Sr.	Nursing	St. George, Maine
Makena Mulcahy	So.	Psychology	Auburn, Mass.
Rona Scott	Jr.	Biology Education	Beverly, Mass.
Hannah Shields	Jr.	Nursing	Buckfield, Maine
Belle Snyder	So.	Linguistics	Epping, NH
Men's Tennis
Name	Class	Major	Hometown
Tyler Gardiner	Sr.	Athletic Training	Watertown, Mass
Ryan Geary	Jr.	Music Education	Derry, NH
Antoine Gignac	So.	Business Management	Quebec City, Quebec
Cole Ouellette	So.	Marketing	Lewiston, Maine
Jaryd Traverso-Penn	Jr.	Exercise Science	Sanford, Maine
Devin Witte	So.	Criminology	Ridgeville Corners, OH
Men's Outdoor Track & Field
Name	Class	Major	Hometown
Ben Drummey	So.	Nursing	Biddeford, Maine
Michael Geary	Sr.	Cyber Security	North Yarmouth, Maine
Masho Gebremikael	Sr.	Athletic Training	Portland, Maine
Antoine Gignac	So.	Business Management	Quebec City, Quebec
Jaequan Grant	Sr.	Cyber Security	East Granby, Conn.
Scott Kaufman	So.	Mechanical Engineering	Nashua, N.H.
Scott Lightbody	So.	Mechanical Engineering	Kennebunk, Maine
CJ Moody	Gr.	Nursing	Old Town, Maine
Jonathan Murphy	Jr.	Athletic Training	Exeter, N.H.
Jack Pecoraro	So.	History	Westbrook, Maine
Garrett Ross	So.	Mathematics	Biddeford, Maine
Women's Outdoor Track & Field
Name	Class	Major	Hometown
Mackenzie Banks	Jr.	Business Management	Belfast, Maine
Catherine Close	Sr.	Nursing	Orleans, Vermont
Emily Colby	Sr.	Health Sciences	Lunenburg, Vermont
Hannah Corbett	Jr.	Biology	Sebago, Maine
Johanna Daigle	So.	Health Sciences	Ashburnham, Mass.
Vanessa DiRisi	So.	Biology	Scarborough, Maine
Madison Fornasier	Jr.	Nursing	South Burlington, Vermont
Catriona Gould	So.	Human Biology	Freeport, Maine
Ana Hewett	Jr.	Nursing	Sidney, Maine
Olivia Jalbert	So.	Undeclared	Auburn, Maine
Cassandra Kane	Jr.	Athletic Training	Topsham, Maine
Lucy Knowlton	Gr.	Master's in Education	Portland, Maine
Emma Noonan	So.	Health Sciences	Steep Falls, Maine
Sophia Poole	So.	Health Sciences	Oakland, Maine
Rachael Raymond	Sr.	Art	East Waterboro, Maine
Olivia Richmond	Sr.	Art Education	Jefferon, Maine
Sophia Slovenski	Jr.	Health Sciences	Cape Neddick, Maine
Jillian Taylor	Jr.	Nursing	Hermon, Maine
Rosemary Train	Jr.	Health Sciences	Long Island, Maine