Five Trojans earn academic all-district honors

MOUNT OLIVE – The University of Mount Olive featured five athletes on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Women’s At-Large Team. Honored were graduate student Ali Davis, graduate student Zoe Dougherty, senior Emma Leclercq, sophomore Annefleur Moerkerken and graduate student Alexis Stanley.

The 2023 Academic All-District Women’s At-Large Teams recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances in the athletic realm and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA. With this honor, all five individuals are eligible for consideration on the CSC Academic All-American Team.

Davis, the Conference Carolinas Player of the Year for field hockey, assisted the Trojans to a third-straight league title following an impressive season on the attack. A native of Hampstead, N.H., she tallied 76 points, which ranked fourth in the Conference Carolinas, with 62 goals and 14 assists in 17 starts. Davis also ranked among the top 10 in NCAA Division II with a .708 free position percentage after scoring 17 goals on free position opportunities this season. She tallied at least one point in every game while netting at least four goals in nine contests. Additionally, she was named IWLCA Second-Team All-Region and the Conference Carolinas Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women’s lacrosse. Davis recently graduated with her master’s degree in business administration while maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade-point-average.

The Conference Carolinas Tournament MVP, Dougherty, from Kings Park, N.Y., shined in the field hockey championship match totaling 10 draw controls, three ground balls and a goal in the 11-9 victory over Belmont Abbey. She was tabbed to the All-Conference Carolinas First Team for the third consecutive year after producing 26 points on 21 goals and five assists in 17 games. Dougherty ranked third on the team with 44 draw controls, while also contributing 21 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers in another championship season for Mount Olive. She recently graduated with her master’s degree in business administration while boasting a 3.91 GPA.

A native of Assas, France, Leclercq led the golf program with a scoring average of 77.74 strokes and earned first-team all-conference this year. She was selected to the Conference Carolinas All-Tournament Team following a ninth-place finish at the league championship. Leclercq registered a team-best finish in five events and ranked fourth in the conference in scoring average. She earned a pair of runner-up finishes this season at the Patsy Rendleman Invitational and Barton Intercollegiate. Leclercq graduated with her bachelor’s degree in May in business management while holding a 3.65 GPA.

Moerkerken, from Driebergen, Netherlands, became one of the first players in program history to garner All-American status in field hockey after an outstanding season in the midfield for the Trojans. She earned All-SAC First-Team honors after tallying nine points on two goals and five assists in 18 starts. Moerkerken also assisted UMO to its best defensive season, which included six shutouts. She maintains a 3.83 GPA while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in biomedical science.

Stanley, the 2023 Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year, led the field hockey program in virtually every defensive category in a third consecutive championship season for the Trojans. From Farmington, Minn., she led the team with 22 caused turnovers, 52 draw controls, and 28 ground balls while being named to the IWLCA All-Region Second-Team. Stanley also garnered all-tournament honors after recording four caused turnovers, eight ground balls, and five draw controls during the postseason. She recently graduated with her master’s degree in business administration while maintaining a 3.66 GPA.

To qualify for the academic all-district honors, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore academically and in athletic eligibility, maintain a cumulative 3.50 GPA or higher and have played at least 50 percent of the team’s games. Additionally, each institution is capped at five nominees for the women’s at-large team.

— From University of Mount Olive Athletics