Six Women's Soccer players named OCSA Academic All-Ohio
ADA — Six women's soccer players have been recognized for their accomplishments on and off the field, as they have been named 2011 Academic All-Ohio by the Ohio College Soccer Association.
Senior Alyssa Merrick, junior Tara Tokar and sophomore Sami Atkinson were named First Team Academic All-Ohio. Junior Paige Garber and sophomore Abbie Schauble were selected Second Team and junior Nicole Grant was named Third Team.
Merrick earned her third academic award this season, as she was also named Second Team Academic All-District 7 by CoSIDA and Academic All-OAC. She led the team with 13 assists, and coupled with her seven goals, finished third on the team in offense with 27 points.
Merrick is a business management/sport management double major that was also selected First Team All-OAC.
Tokar started in all 21 games for the Polar Bears this past season and recorded three goals and two assists for eight points, ranking sixth on the team in offense.
The pharmacy major earned NSCAA All-America and First Team All-Great Lakes Region honors this season, as well as First Team All-Conference and Academic All-OAC awards.
Atkinson, a nursing student, earned her share of accolades this postseason. In addition to her OAC Player of the Week and First Team awards, Atkinson was also named All-Great Lakes Region by NSCAA, Academic All-OAC and Second Team Academic All-District 7 by CoSIDA.
She finished the season leading the team and the conference with 30 points on 12 goals and six assists in her 20 game appearances.
Garber started in all 21 games at defender and recorded one assist this season. She is no stranger to being honored for her work on and off the field, as this pharmacy major was named Academic All-OAC and was one of three players named CoSIDA All-District 7 earlier this season.
Schauble started in every game this season at midfielder, recording 11 points on three goals and five assists. The pharmacy major was named Second Team All-OAC following the 2011 campaign.
Grant, a defender and biology major, also started in every contest this season, tallying one assist. She was a member of a defensive front that recorded 11 shutouts. Grant earned a nod as Honorable Mention Academic All-OAC.