GORHAM, Maine  –  Juniors Hannah Banks (Belfast, Maine) and Jordan Cummings (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) and sophomore Sage Drinkwater (Steep Falls, Maine/Bonny Eagle) of the University of Southern Maine Huskies' field hockey team have earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors.
 
Each of the three members of the Huskies' 2022 Little East Conference Regular Season Champion field hockey team are earning the honor after distinguishing themselves athletically and academically as student-athletes at the University of Southern Maine.  To be eligible for the accolade, student-athletes must be a starter or an important reserve with at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale), must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's games, must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically, and have been at their current institution for one full academic year.  Graduate students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher as both an undergrad and graduate student-athlete. 
 
Earning All-Little East Conference honors as a midfielder (first team, 2021) and defensive player (second team, 2022), Banks is a Business Management major. Recently named an National Field Hockey Coaches Association Scholar of Distinction – an award given to student-athletes who carry a 3.9 or higher GPA during their respective playing season – Banks, is a two-time William B. Wise Scholar Athlete in addition to being a two-time All-LEC performer. Dropping to the back line to help fill a gap in the Huskies' defense in 2023, helped lead the Huskies defense and helped USM capture its first regular season title, chipping in with six goals and five assists.  Banks scored USM's game-winning goal in a thrilling 3-2 win over Keene State in the LEC semifinals, giving the Huskies their first playoff win over the Owls in 10 tries. 
 
The 2022 Little East Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Cummings is a pursuing her degree in Health Sciences.  Just the second Husky field hockey player to earn LEC Defensive Player of the Year honors, joining 2003 National Field Hockey Coaches' Association (NFHCA) All-American and Husky Hall of Fame inductee Jesse Superchi '04 on the exclusive list, Cummings also earned a spot on the All-LEC first team. Playing and starting in all 25 games for Southern Maine, Cummings had a team-high eight defensive saves, and helped limit Southern Maine's opponents to a 2.04 goals against average – against LEC opponents only, Cummings and the Huskies' limited their in-conference opposition to a 1.25 goals against average.
 
A two-time National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-Region selection, Drinkwater is a Linguistics major. The 2021 LEC Rookie of the Year, Drinkwater showed no signs of slowing down, earning first team all-conference honors for the second consecutive season. The Huskies' leading scorer with 15 goals and five assists for 35 points, Drinkwater had four game-winning goals during the season.  She finished the season ranked fifth in goals, ninth in points and eighth in game-winning goals in the Little East. In two seasons, Drinkwater has 26 goals and 10 assists for 62 points.
 
All three Huskies were NFHCA Division III National Academic Squad members, and help lead Southern Maine to a 15-8 overall record and a 10-2 mark in the Little East Conference regular season, claiming the 2022 Little East Conference regular season championship.  During the season, the Huskies set a single-season record for goals (52), and head coach Bonny Brown Denico '91 earned her 250^th career win, and was named the LEC Coach of the Year.
 
As Academic All-District student-athlete honorees, each of the three Huskies on the Academic All District team are eligible for the Academic All-America ballot.  Voting for the Academic All-America program continues through June, and the Academic All-America team for at-large female student-athletes will be announced on June 22. Members of College Sports Communicators are eligible to vote. College Sports Communicators began the distinguished Academic All-America® program in 1952, and since then, has honored more than 38,000 deserving student-athletes from numerous sports across all divisions with these elite Academic All-America® scholar-athlete honors.  Currently, CSC sponsors Academic All-America® programs for men's soccer, women's soccer, football, volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's swimming & diving, women's swimming & diving, men's tennis, women's tennis, baseball, softball and men's and women's track and field/cross country. Many other sports are eligible through the At-Large program, including USM sponsored sports field hockey, golf, ice hockey, and wrestling.
 
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