Grace Soccer Players Earn Academic All-America Honors

25 Nov 2015

by Liz Cutler Gates

Six members of the Grace College soccer programs have been named to CoSIDA Academic All-America® Teams.

From the men’s team, Kyle Hamlin and Robbie Barnhill were named 2015 CoSIDA First Team Academic All-America®. From the women’s team, Abby Schue and Carianne Sobey were named to the 11-player First Team, and Erica Manchess and Mallory Rondeauwere named Second Team.

Grace was the only school with two representatives on the 11-player men’s First Team.

Hamlin has a 3.92 GPA as a senior, majoring in Math Education. Barnhill boasts a perfect 4.00 GPA as a junior Health Science major.

The Lancers, under head coach Matt Hotchkin, earned a berth into the 2015 NCCAA National Championships on Saturday. With a record of 14-6-2, Grace has earned its highest win total as a program since 1983.

The Lady Lancers were the only team with representatives on both the First and Second Teams. Grace also had twice as many representatives as any other school on the prestigious teams (Keiser, 2 honorees). Grace was also the only Crossroads League team to earn a place on the All-America® teams.

Schue was the only underclassman on the First Team. She has a 3.97 GPA as an Exercise Science/General Science major. Sobey, the program’s career leader in assists, has a 3.96 GPA as a Business and Facility/Event Management major.

On the Second Team, Manchess (3.98 GPA) and Rondeau (3.95 GPA) are both Health Science majors.

The Lady Lancers are in the midst of their first NAIA National Championship appearance in program history. Grace won the NAIA Opening Round on Saturday against Park, advancing to next week’s Second Round game against Westmont (Calif.) in Orange Beach, Ala.

CoSIDA awards student-athletes who have maintained a GPA of at least 3.3. Members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) then vote on eligible student-athletes through the district and national levels based on a combination of academic and athletic accomplishments. To see the complete CoSIDA release, click here.