Clayton State University Athletics

CoSIDA Academic All-America Release

YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – Graduate midfielder Maria Marti Bartis (Girona, Spain) has been named a CoSIDA Academic All-America First-Team selection for a second straight season, becoming the first multi time winner in program history.
 
One of just 11 Division II women's soccer student-athletes across the country to earn First-Team honors, Marti Bartis has collected two of the three Academic All-America honors in the 27-year history of Clayton State Athletics. The only other was cross country and track and field student-athlete Robert Spezzacatena, who was a Third-Team choice in 2012.
 
"What Maria has accomplished during her time as a Laker is incredible," said Tim Duncan, Director of Athletics. "We place a premium on academics with our student-athletes and impress upon our coaches to recruit those individuals that can succeed both academically and athletically throughout their careers at Clayton State. One needs to look no further than Maria for a perfect example of this in action. Her head coaches during her career, Gareth O'Sullivan and Fergal Forde, should be commended for their efforts in bringing such an outstanding individual to Clayton State. We are very proud of her accomplishments and look forward to her continuing to be a part of the Laker Family as an alumna."
 
Marti Bartis is in rare company as she is one of just seven individuals to repeat as Academic All-America from last year's team and one of only three to do so on the First-Team.
 
Additionally, she is one of three Peach Belt Conference student-athletes to make any of the teams, with Maylyn Parsons and Nicole Corcione earning spots on the First-Team for Columbus State. A total of only six student-athletes from the Southeast Region were named as an Academic All-America.
 
A graduate student, she has continued to excel both academically and athletically in 2016. In the classroom she posted a perfect 4.0 GPA while pursuing a Masters in Health Administration and was named to the PBC All-Academic Team for a second consecutive year.
 
That performance earned her a second straight Academic All-District selection, just the 14^th in Clayton State history and one of two multi time winners, which paved the way for her to become a two-time First-Team Academic All-America.
 
When it came to the field, she had that covered as well. Marti Bartis finished 2016 with 11 goals and eight assists for 30 points and finished her career with 37 goals, 18 assists and 92 points in just three seasons.
 
She is third all-time in program history in goals scored and points, and this year, became the first Laker soccer player, men's or women's, to score double-digit goals in three consecutive seasons. That encompassed a total of 47 seasons of Clayton State soccer.
 
For her efforts she has been named Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year, All-PBC First-Team and PBC Player of the Week (10/3). She is the sixth Player of the Year in team history and one of just four individuals to be named All-Conference for three or more years. For the latter, the last two have been at the First-Team level. She is still under consideration for D2CCA All-American honors, which would be her second following a Second-Team spot in 2014.
 
For her career, she is also a three-time Daktronics/D2CCA First-Team All-Region selection, three-time All-PBC choice (two First-Team, one Second-Team) and has twice been named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-Southeast Region Third-Team. She is also a four-time PBC Player of the Week, which ranks second all-time in program history behind the six won by Olaitan Yusuf from 2004-07.
 
Additionally, Marti Bartis is one of just three international students to be named to the First-Team and is one of just six among the 33 total selections. She is also the only graduate student on the First-Team and one of three selected to any team.

Marti Bartis is also the 73^rd All-American of any kind in the history of the program. This is her third appearance on that illustrious list with her First-Team Academic All-American honor from a year ago and the Daktronics Second-Team recognition in 2014 being the others.
 
Student-athletes are nominated and selected to the Academic All-District Team by Sports Information Directors who are members of CoSIDA prior to consideration for Academic All-American recognition. Student-athletes selected as Academic All-District then move on to the All-American ballot.
 
ABOUT THE COSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA PROGRAM
The 2016 CoSIDA Division II Academic All-America Women's Soccer Teams, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America, have been released to recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.
 
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by their sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 20,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
 
Clayton State History of Academic All-America Selections
2016 – Maria Marti Bartis (Women's Soccer) – First-Team
2015 – Maria Marti Bartis (Women's Soccer) – First-Team
2012 – Robert Spezzacatena (At-Large – Men's Cross Country/Track & Field) – Third-Team

2016 CoSIDA Women's Soccer Academic All-America Teams
FIRST TEAM

Pos.	Name	School	Class	Hometown	GPA	Major
GK	Maylyn Parsons	Columbus State	Sr.	Greenville, S.C.	4.00	Engineering Studies
D	Clare Carlson	Grand Valley State	Sr.	Ada, Mich.	3.94	Biomedical Sciences
D	Anna Fink	Missouri S&T	Sr.	Fulton, Mo.	4.00	Chemical Engineering
D	Courtney Kozak	Ohio Dominican	Sr.	Millersburg, Ohio	4.00	Accounting/Finance
D	Carlie Thornber	Tusculum	Jr.	Oshawa, Ontario	4.00	Pre-Medicine
M	Kaitlyn Brunworth	Wingate	Sr.	Littleton, Colo.	4.00	Biology
M	Sara Helgadottir	West Florida	Sr.	Grindavík, Iceland	3.72	Psychology
M	Maria Marti Bartis	Clayton State	Gr.	Girona, Spain	4.00	Health Administration
F	Nicole Corcione	Columbus State	Sr.	Candler, N.C.	3.58	Nursing
F	Gabriella Mencotti	Grand Valley State	Jr.	Novi, Mich.	3.73	Finance
F	Sarah Stram	Bemidji State	Sr.	Elk Grove Village, Ill.	3.90	Chemistry

SECOND-TEAM

Pos.	Name	School	Class	Hometown	GPA	Major
GK	Katie Mattingly	Truman State	Sr.	Perryville, Mo.	3.83	Health Science
D	Megan Block	Rollins	Sr.	Jacksonville, Fla.	3.96	International Business
D	Jessica Brown	Ashland	Sr.	Hamilton, Ohio	3.99	Exercise Science
D	Andrea Polanco	East Stroudsburg	Sr.	Otisville, N.Y.	4.00	Public Health
D	Emily Vogler	West Florida	Sr.	Lynn Haven, Fla.	3.64	MBA
M	Kiera Bocchino	UC San Diego	Sr.	Laguna Hills, Calif.	3.60	Human Development
M	Kristin Wolff	Rockhurst	Sr.	Wentzville, Mo.	3.98	Nursing
M	Nicola Worthington	Bridgeport	Jr.	Chorley, England	3.61	Health Science
F	Anna Bondy	Northern State	Sr.	Pierre, S.D.	3.70	Biology
F	Jules Herrity	Carson-Newman	Sr.	Donegal, Ireland	3.56	Business Administration
F	Darian McCloy	Dixie State	Sr.	Herriman, Utah	3.97	Nursing

THIRD-TEAM

Pos.	Name	School	Class	Hometown	GPA	Major
GK	Jordan Woodruff	Northeastern State	Sr.	Long Island, N.Y.	3.82	Health & Human Performance
D	Taylor Gersch	Saint Martin's	Sr.	Sherwood, Ore.	4.00	Business Administration
D	Hannah Gombos	East Stroudsburg	Sr.	Schnecksville, Pa.	3.56	Special Education & Mid-Level Ed.
D	Kate O'Gara	Lubbock Christian	Jr.	Stockport, England	4.00	Exercise Science
D	Drew Ribadeneyra	Pace	Jr.	Maybrook, N.Y.	3.96	Biological Psychology
M	Samantha Collin	Rollins	Sr.	Oviedo, Fla.	3.98	Physics
M	Lindsey Dias	Chico State	Sr.	Fullerton, Calif.	3.94	Nursing
M	Mackenzie Fuller	Lewis	Jr.	Aurora, Ill.	4.00	Economics
F	Elise Aylward	Western Washington	Sr.	Renton, Wash.	3.84	French
F	Deanna Rudasill	East Central	Jr.	Fayetteville, Ark.	4.00	Early Childhood Education
F	Caroline Staudle	S. Connecticut State	Sr.	New Windsor, N.Y.	3.98	Business

-