ANDERSON, S.C. – Anderson University golfers Reece Coleman, Daniel Coker, Simon Wright, Kerington Lamb and Jessica Rathbone, along with lacrosse standouts Beau Henson and Ryan Zopfi, have been named to the 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® At-Large Teams, as announced early Tuesday afternoon.
The team, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances in the athletic realm and in the classroom.
The CSC At-Large program allows five nominees per gender per school, for a maximum total of five men's at-large candidates and a maximum five women's at-large candidates per school from the following sports - women's beach volleyball, women's bowling, women's crew/rowing, men's and women's fencing, women's field hockey, men's and women's golf, men's and women's gymnastics, men's and women's ice hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's rifle, men's and women's skiing, men's volleyball, men's and women's water polo and men's wrestling.
Henson, a graduate student from Canton, Ga., had a 3.58 GPA while earning his MBA, after receiving his undergraduate degree in marketing. On the field, Henson tallied 21 goals and 10 assists as a midfielder, scoring three goals in the wins over Florida Southern, Young Harris, Mars Hill, and Lincoln Memorial. Last season, Beau was named a USILA Scholar All-American after completing his bachelor's degree.
Zopfi, a graduate from St. Michael, Minn., finished with a 3.89 GPA in his MBA. On the field, Zopfi totaled 12 goals and 15 assists while picking up 24 ground balls. Ryley started all 18 games this season for the Trojans while serving as team captain. Two of his notable games of the year were three goals in the win over Lincoln Memorial and five ground balls in the overtime victory over No.13 Limestone.
The Trojans finished the 2023 campaign with a 12-6 record and earned the No.4 seed in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament where they fell to the eventual conference champions, the Limestone Saints, by a score of 20-10 in the quarterfinals.
Coleman, Wright and Coker helped lead the Trojans to a No. 1 national ranking and their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 15 years, where they finished 10th at the 2023 NCAA Southeast/South Regional Championship following a strong third round.
Coleman a senior from Port Elizabeth, South Africa, a four-time All-Conference honoree and the SAC Golfer of the Year, carded five of the top-seven 54-hole scores in program history this season. He wrapped up the season ranked sixth nationally by Golfstat and was named SAC Golfer of the Week in early March after winning Georgia Southwestern's Hurricane Invitational. He posted seven overall finishes in the top-3 and didn't finish lower than 15th in his other three tournaments.
He majored in business computing and data analytics and held a 3.688 GPA.
Wright, a rising junior from Lancaster, recorded a 74.48 unadjusted stroke average and fired a 68 in the second round of the Bearcat Classic and a 69 in the opening round of the Columbus State Cougar Invitational.
He is an accounting major with a 3.80 GPA.
Coker, a rising senior from Hartsville, owned a 74.57 unadjusted stroke average through 7 tournaments, while carding a season-low 71 on four occasions, including the final round of the SAC Championship. He fired an even-par 72 three times and recorded an 18th-place finish at the North Georgia Intercollegiate and shared 31st place at Lander's Bearcat Classic.
Coker is majoring in supply chain management and owns a 3.62 GPA.
Lamb and Rathbone helped lead the women's golf team to No. 5 national ranking and a 10th-place finish last week at the 2023 NCAA Division II Women's Golf National Championships in the Trojans' second consecutive appearance on the national stage.
Lamb, a graduate student from Easley, finished with a share of 35th place at the NCAA National Championships after collecting Second-Team All-Conference honors in late March. She is ranked 40th nationally by Golfstat and shares the single-round school record after firing a final-round 66 in the 2022 Lady Moc Golf Classic. She carded a season-low 3-under 69 on two occasions this year, while posting seven top-20 finishes on the year.
Lamb majored in business/marketing and held a 3.76 undergraduate GPA and a 3.763 GPA as a graduate student.
Rathbone, a rising senior from Montpelier, Va., is currently ranked 25th in the nation by Golfstat and captured All-Region accolades from the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) a week ago. A two-time All-America honoree, Rathbone was earlier named the 2023 South Atlantic Conference Golfer of the Year.
The Montpelier, Va., native, has captured First-Team All-Conference accolades in all three of her collegiate seasons and owns or has matched five of the top-10 single-round scores in program history. She was named SAC Golfer of the Week in early October after winning the City with Spirit Classic.
Rathbone is majoring in biochemistry and carries a 3.61 GPA.
The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes at-large honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced June 21.
The CSC Academic All-District® teams are divided into geographic districts across the United States and Canada.
The Division II and III CSC Academic All-America® programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2020-21 Divisions II and III Academic All-America® programs. The NAIA CSC Academic All-America® program is partially financially supported through the NAIA national office.
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or important reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.50 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
