GORHAM, Maine – Graduate student Katelyn D'Appolonia (Yarmouth, Maine) and senior Britney Hill (Pembroke, N.H./Pembroke Academy) of the University of Southern Maine Huskies' women's lacrosse team has earned 2026 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honor. This is D'Appolonia's first Academic All-District honor and the second consecutive honor for Hill, who are both being honored as part of the At-Large program that covers USM-sponsored sports of field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, golf, and wrestling.
 
To be eligible for Academic All-District recognition, student-athletes must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically with a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher. For lacrosse, the student-athlete also must have competed in 90 percent of the institution's games played or must have started in at least 66 percent of the institution's games.
 
Now a two-time Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Second Team All-Region selection, D'Appolonia had an historic season that saw her set a new program record for assists in a season with 35 and tie the program record for points with 94. The midfielder led the team in nearly every category with 57 goals, 56 ground balls and 104 draw controls. She earned her second consecutive LEC major award this season as the first-ever recipient of the LEC Midfielder of the Year award in addition to First Team All-LEC honors. In just two seasons and 33 games, D'Appolonia ranks third in program history in career draw controls (186), fifth in assists (52) and 10th in both goals (115) and points (167). A two-time team captain, D'Appolonia completed her undergraduate degree in Communications in December of 2025 and is now working towards her Master's degree in Digital Marketing Analytics.
 
A two-time First Team All-LEC defender, Hill has been the linchpin of the Huskies' defense for the past two seasons. She finished the season in the top five on the team ground balls with 50 and caused turnovers with 30. Hill reached a career milestone this season with the 100th ground ball of her career as part of a six ground ball game in the Huskies' 12-8 win over Keene State. The senior also had another career-highlight when she scored the first goal of her career in a 22-1 win over Rhode Island College. In her career, Hill has recorded 22 ground balls and 64 caused turnovers. She recently graduated with her degree in English.