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 Ashley Botts (Beloit) has perfectly combined success in athletics and academics.
The Grand Valley State (Mich.) junior forward was named the Capital One Academic All-America of the Year for NCAA Division II women's soccer.
Botts, a biology major, has a 3.64 grade-point average and is the leading scorer for the top-ranked Lakers (20-0-4), who will play St. Rose (N.Y.) on Saturday looking to win their third consecutive national championship.
She has 19 goals and 10 assists this season and 48 goals and 23 assists in her career, making her the third-leading scorer in program history. Botts was a third-team All-American in 2009 and a first-team selection last fall.
Armstrong Atlantic State (Ga.) senior defender Kelli Bahr (Middleton) joined Botts as a first-team Academic All-American. She has a 3.88 GPA as an early childhood education major and helped the Pirates qualify for the NCAA national semifinals for the first time.
Nebraska-Kearney senior midfielder Morgan Abert (Waupaca) was a third-team pick. Abert, who started her collegiate career at Ripon before being part of the Lopers' inaugural team, is a biology major with a 3.98 GPA and had two goals for Nebraska-Kearney.
Division I
Four players with state ties were named to the second team of the women's Division I team: University of Wisconsin forward Laurie Nosbusch (Mequon Homestead), Baylor forward Dana Larsen (Mequon Homestead) and the Marquette duo of defender Kerry McBride (Elm Grove/Milwaukee DSHA) and goalkeeper Natalie Kulla. Larsen is a junior, while the others are seniors.
Nosbusch, a double major in Spanish and biology, and Larsen, a biochemistry major, both have 4.0 GPAs. Nosbusch had six goals and six assists for the Badgers (10-7-3) this fall, while Larsen had 11 goals and two assists in 22 games for the Bears (15-4-3), who advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
McBride and Kulla were the anchors of the backline as the Golden Eagles won their third straight Big East Conference American Division title and are both civil engineering majors. Kulla, who finished second in NCAA Division I history with 43 career shutouts, has a 3.56 GPA and sweeper McBride carries a 3.52 GPA.
Creighton senior forward Ethan Finlay (Marshfield) was a second-team selection on the men's team. Finlay has a 3.41 GPA in finance and is the leading scorer for the Bluejays, who play South Florida in the NCAA quarterfinals on Sunday.
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