ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA® TEAM
SELECTED BY COSIDA
For Release:
Tuesday, Feb. 28 – 12 noon ET
DESHAWN LOWMAN OF NEUMANN, LISA MURPHY OF CARNEGIE
MELLON HIGHLIGHT CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA®
DIVISION III BASKETBALL TEAMS
AUSTIN, Texas – A pair of repeat selections headline the 2016-17 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division III Men’s and
Women’s Basketball teams in selections announced Tuesday by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
DeShawn Lowman, a graduate student at Neumann, and Lisa Murphy from Carnegie Mellon highlight the two teams as the
Academic All-America® of the Year for men and women, respectively.
Lowman and Murphy are two of six repeat honorees to the 2016-17 team as each was a first team Academic All-America®
selection in 2015-16.
The CoSIDA Division III Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division III national
governance structure, to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2016-17 Division III Academic AllAmerica® teams program.
Murphy’s teammate, Jackie Hudepohl, and Roanoke’s Cary Beahm join Murphy on the first team after earning second and third
team honors last season, respectively.
The final women’s repeat selection, Averett’s Samm Chandler, is a second team Academic All-America® pick this year after
earning third team accolades last year.
A third student-athlete from Carnegie Mellon, Jack Serbin, is a three-time Academic All-America® honoree thanks to his first
team spot on the men’s first team this winter. A 3.77 student as a business administration major, the New Albany, Ohio native
was a second team pick in 2015-16 and a third teamer in 2014-15.
Lowman, a perfect 4.0 student as an undergrad as a criminal justice major who is now pursuing a master’s degree in education,
led Neumann to a CSAC regular season and tournament titles as well as a No. 15 national ranking after averaging 19.1 points
and 7.4 rebounds per game. A two-time CSAC Player of the Week honoree, the Wilmington, Delaware native has earned first
team All-CSAC honors the past three seasons and was the 2014 CSAC Rookie of the Year.
Murphy, a McLean, Virginia native and a 3.84 student as a psychology major, is in the midst of finishing off an outstanding
career for the Tartans. She currently averages a league-leading 24.2 points and 12.7 rebounds per game and became just the
18th woman in NCAA Division III history to record 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds when she reached both milestones in a UAArecord 44-point performance versus Emory on January 22.
Murphy was the 2016 UAA Player of the Year and earned first team All-America honors from both the WBCA and D3hoops.com.
Hudepohl, who boasts a perfect 4.0 G.P.A. as a mathematics major, was a first team All-UAA selection in 2016 and is averaging
15.2 points per game this season for Carnegie Mellon. She calls Saratoga, California home.
Serbin leads the UAA in rebounding, 11.7 per game, and is in second in scoring at 17.3 ppg. He is a two-time All-UAA honoree
and was the 2014 UAA Rookie of the Year.
Neumann’s Lowman, Carnegie Mellon’s Murphy Top Academic All-America® Division III Basketball Teams -- Page 2
Beahm has earned All-ODAC honors in each of the last two seasons and was named as the league’s Scholar-Athlete of the
Year for women’s basketball this season. She is from Dendron, Virginia and sports a 3.97 G.P.A. as a criminal justice/sociology
double major.
Chandler now has the opportunity to earn three straight Academic All-America® honors with her second team selection this
season. A two-time first team All-USA South honoree, Chandler has a 3.96 G.P.A. as a biomedical science/sports medicine
double major and is a Burnsville, North Carolina native.
Harrison Blackledge (Hope), Daniel Rutecki (King’s (Pa.)) and Rockford’s Zach Wallace join Lowman and Serbin on the men’s
first team.
Blackledge hails from Canton, Ohio and capped his career at Hope by being named first team All-MIAA and as the MIAA MVP.
A 3.91 student as a communication/management major, Blackledge averaged 20.3 ppg for the MIAA finalists this season.
Rutecki, from Springfield, Pennsylvania, was named to the MAC Freedom Conference second team for the third straight year in
2016-17 after leading King’s (Pa.) in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. He graduates as the No. 10 leading scorer in
program history with 1361 points and has a 3.92 G.P.A. as a finance/accounting double major.
Wallace, from Rockford, Illinois and a 3.63 student in political science, was named as the NACC Defensive Player of the Year
after leading the league with 2.8 blocks per game and 11.5 rebounds per game. He was also a first team All-NACC selection.
The 15-player men’s Academic All-America® men’s team has a 3.80 average G.P.A. with the five first teamers checking in at
3.85. Lowman, Nebraska Wesleyan’s Cooper Cook and David Stokman from Saint John’s (Minnesota) all have perfect 4.0
G.P.A.’s. Cook is a second team honoree and Stokman a third team pick.
Holly Denfield, from Milwaukee School of Engineering, and Elmhurst’s Mikaela Eppard complete the women’s first team along
with Murphy, Hudepohl and Beahm.
Denfield is a four-time first team All-NACC selection and a two-time NACC Player of the Year honoree that also earned the
Josten’s Award in 2015-16. She was also a WBCA Honorable Mention honoree last year and has a 3.99 G.P.A. as an
architectural engineering/construction management double major.
Eppard is a three-time All-CCIW honoree and that was a unanimous selection to the CCIW first team this season. She led the
Blue Jays in both scoring, 21 ppg, and rebounding, 11 rpg, this season. She is from Englewood, Colorado and is a
communication sciences and disorders major with a 3.94 G.P.A.
The Academic All-America® women’s team, also at 15 players, has an average G.P.A. of 3.89 with first team posting an
amazing 3.95 G.P.A. Five women: Hudepohl, Kirsten Lye (Texas Lutheran), Kara Holinski (MIT), Lori Obendorf (Loras) and
Kirsten Rayner (Frostburg State) all post 4.0 GPAs.
Nate Axelrod (Ohio Wesleyan), Brandon Federici (Franklin & Marshall), Wes McKinney (Hanover) and Edvinas Rupkus
(Skidmore) join Cook on the men’s second team. Louis Khouri (Catholic), Matt St. Amour (Middlebury), Colby Taylor (Central
(Iowa)) and Joe Timmes from NYU make up the third team along with Stokman.
Chandler, Lye, Sara Dyslin (Hendrix), Katie McDaniels (Wheaton (Illinois)) and Defiance’ Kelsey Tietje comprise the women’s
second team. Holinski, Obendorf, Rayner, Camille McPherson (Moravian) and Sara Tarbert (Stevenson) make up the women’s
third team.
The men’s squad represents 15 different institutions and the women’s 14. Carnegie Mellon is the school with multiple honorees
on the women’s side and is also the only school with at least one representative for the men and for the women.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jeff Schwartz, North Dakota State University ([email protected])
Academic All-America ® Co-Vice-Chair for Publicity/Communications
Scott Musa, Shenandoah University ([email protected])
Academic All-America® Coordinator of Publicity
(701) 231-8332
(540) 665-5417
2016-17 Academic All-America ®
Men’s Basketball Teams
Division III
FIRST TEAM
Name
Harrison Blackledge
DeShawn Lowman (1)
Daniel Rutecki
Jack Serbin (2) (#)
Zach Wallace
School
Hope
Neumann
King's (Pa.)
Carnegie Mellon
Rockford
Yr.
Sr.
Gr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Hometown
Canton, Ohio
Wilmington, Del.
Springfield, Pa.
New Albany, Ohio
Rockford, Ill.
SECOND TEAM
Name
Nate Axelrod
Cooper Cook
Brandon Federici
Wes McKinney
Edvinas Rupkus
School
Ohio Wesleyan
Nebraska Wesleyan
Franklin & Marshall
Hanover
Skidmore
Yr.
Jr.
So.
Jr.
Jr.
So.
Hometown
Dublin, Ohio
Overland Park, Kan.
Morganville, N.J.
Batesville, Ind.
GPA
3.77
4.00
3.73
3.72
Naujoji Akmene, Lithuania 3.92
Major
Finance economics
Accounting
Joint studies
Economics
Business / economics
THIRD TEAM
Name
Louis Khouri
Matt St. Amour
David Stokman
Colby Taylor
Joe Timmes
School
Catholic
Middlebury
Saint John’s (Minn.)
Central (Iowa)
NYU
Yr.
Sr.
Sr.
So.
Sr.
Sr.
Hometown
Alexandria, Va.
Swanton, Vt.
Maple Lake, Minn.
Creston, Iowa
Chatham, N.J.
Major
Engineering
Economics
Economics / philosophy
Actuarial science
Sports management
GPA
3.91
4.0,4.0 (gr.) Criminal justice (UG) / education (G)
CoSIDA Academic All-America® of the Year: DeShawn Lowman, Neumann
(1) CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division III 1st team selection in 2015-16
(2) CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division III 2nd team selection in 2015-16
(#) CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division III 3rd team selection in 2014-15
Major
Communication / management
3.92
3.77
3.63
GPA
3.76
3.45
4.00
3.41
3.95
Finance / accounting
Business administration
Political science
2016-17 Academic All-America ®
Women’s Basketball Teams
Division III
FIRST TEAM
Name
Cary Beahm (3)
Holly Denfeld
Mikaela Eppard
Jackie Hudepohl (2)
Lisa Murphy (1)
School
Roanoke
MSOE
Elmhurst
Carnegie Mellon
Carnegie Mellon
Yr.
Sr.
Sr.
Jr.
Sr.
Sr.
Hometown
Dendron, Va.
Edgar, Wis.
Englewood, Colo.
Saratoga, Calif.
McLean, Va.
GPA
3.97
3.99
3.94
4.00
3.84
Major
Criminal justice / sociology
SECOND TEAM
Name
Samm Chandler (3)
Sara Dyslin
Kristen Lye
Katie McDaniels
Kelsey Tietje
School
Averett
Hendrix
Texas Lutheran
Wheaton (Ill.)
Defiance
Yr.
Jr.
Jr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Hometown
Burnsville, N.C.
San Jose, Calif.
San Antonio, Texas
Shoreview, Minn.
Deshler, Ohio
GPA
3.96
3.95
4.00
3.85
3.77
Major
Biomedical science / sports med
French / neuroscience
Kinesiology
Applied health science
Business administration
THIRD TEAM
Name
Kara Holinski
Camille McPherson
Lori Obendorf
Kirsten Rayner
Sara Tarbert
School
MIT
Moravian
Loras
Frostburg State
Stevenson
Yr.
So.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Hometown
Livonia, Mich.
West Orange, N.J.
Naperville, Ill.
Lonaconing, Md.
Delta, Pa.
GPA
4.00
3.63
4.00
4.00
3.41
Major
Chemical-biological engineering
Political science
Elementary education / Spanish
Exercise & sport science
Nursing
CoSIDA Academic All-America® of the Year: Lisa Murphy, Carnegie Mellon
(1) CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division III 1st team selection in 2015-16
(2) CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division III 2nd team selection in 2015-16
(3) CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division III 3rd team selection in 2015-16
Architect. engineering & constr. mgmt.
Comm. sciences & disorders
Mathematics
Psychology