Wisconsin Soccer Central

A pair of Wisconsin natives blended soccer and academics better than nearly any women's player in the country this fall.

Baylor senior forward Dana Larsen (Mequon Homestead) was named the Capital One Academic All-America of the Year for NCAA Division I, while Edgewood College senior striker Elaine Gerry (Sauk Prairie) was the Division III honoree.

Larsen and Gerry headline a group of 12 state players who made Academic All-American teams in one of four divisions, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

Larsen had team highs of 11 goals and nine assists and was a National Soccer Coaches Association of America third-team All-American as the Bears (19-1-5) recorded the best season in program history. A second-team Academic All-American last season, Larsen has a perfect 4.00 grade-point average as a biochemistry major.

Gerry ranked sixth in the country with 25 goals this season and added eight assists for Edgewood (15-4-1), and became the 17th player in Division III history to score 100 career goals.

A four-time, first-team All-Northern Athletics Conference selection and the conference's career leader in goals and points, Gerry sports a 3.95 GPA in accounting – in fact, she has been working full-time as an accountant since May in addition to her classes and soccer. Gerry is the first Edgewood player in any sport to claim the top Academic honor and the first Eagles athlete to earn first-team Academic All-American status twice.

Marquette senior defender Ally Miller (Mequon Homestead) joined Larsen on the Division I first team – Miller has a 3.86 GPA in advertising and was the Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a second-team NSCAA All-American. Michigan Tech senior defender Melanie Hoffman (Pulaski), who carries a 4.00 GPA in exercise science, was named to the Division II first team.

Dubuque (Iowa) senior defender Ashley Barwick (Appleton Xavier) and UW-River Falls senior midfielder Carlin Bunting, who also have 4.00 grade-point averages, were first-team picks on the Division III team along with Gerry.

WOMEN

NCAA Division I

First team: D Ally Miller, sr., Marquette (Mequon Homestead), 3.86 advertising; F Dana Larsen, sr., Baylor (Mequon Homestead), 4.00 biochemistry.

Third team: F Kate Reigle, jr., Marquette (Brookfield East), 4.00 biomedical sciences.

NCAA Division II

First team: D Melanie Hoffman, sr., Michigan Tech (Pulaski), 4.00 exercise science.

NCAA Division III

First team: D Ashley Barwick, sr., Dubuque, Iowa (Appleton Xavier), 4.00 accounting and business administration; M Carlin Bunting, sr., UW-River Falls, 4.00 business administration and political science; F Elaine Gerry, sr., Edgewood College (Sauk Prairie), 3.95 accounting. Third team: F Gina Williams, sr., UW-Eau Claire (Verona), 3.82 kinesiology.

College Division

Third team: F Stephanie Wisen, jr., Viterbo (Wisconsin Rapids), 3.43 art education.

MEN

NCAA Division I

Second team: M Bryan Ciesiulka, jr., Marquette, 3.80 mathematics and education.

NCAA Division III

Second team: F Andrew Aurit, jr., Edgewood College (Monroe), 3.94 business. Third team: D Dennis Mudd, sr., Marian, 3.97 biology and chemistry.

Team Academic Awards

Edgewood, Marquette and UW-Oshkosh were among the 155 schools that had both their women's and men's teams claim NSCAA Team Academic Awards.

Nine state women's teams and four men's sides earned the honor by having collective grade-point averages of 3.00 or better during the 2011-12 academic year.

WOMEN

UW-Milwaukee (coach Greg Henschel), 3.56 grade-point average; Marquette (Markus Roeders), 3.51; Edgewood College (Tim Alexander), 3.46; UW-Eau Claire (Sean Yengo), 3.39; UW-La Crosse (Sara Burton), 3.36; UW-Superior (Melissa Nelmark), 3.28; UW-Green Bay (Trevor Warren), 3.19; UW (Paula Wilkins), 3.10; UW-Oshkosh (Erin Coppernoll), 3.05.

Also: Northwestern (Michael Moynihan – Milwaukee/UW), 3.32; Michigan Tech (Michelle Jacob – Neenah/UW-Stevens Point), 3.25; Nebraska Wesleyan (Sean Steele – Oshkosh/UW-Oshkosh), 3.14

MEN

Lawrence (Blake Johnson), 3.16; Edgewood College (Tim Alexander), 3.15; UW-Oshkosh (Wytse Molenaar), 3.05; Marquette (Louis Bennett), 3.01.

Also: Wright State (Bryan Davis – Milwaukee/UW), 3.12.