2020-21 D2 ADA Academic Achievement Awards
CLEVELAND – The NCAA Division 2 Athletics Directors Association (D2 ADA) recently announced its 2020-21 recipients of the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Awards. Among the list of honorees were a program record 36 Academy of Art University Urban Knights who thrived in the classroom, marking ART U's second straight year with its highest total to date.
Of the 188 institutions that submitted nominees, a record total of 16,262 student-athletes were recognized for their efforts this past year. The winners of the awards came from 12 different Academy of Art University sports and this select group of 36 Urban Knights earned the distinction, representing ART U among its fellow NCAA Division II institutions.
The Academic Achievement Award winners were selected based upon a strict set of criteria. In addition to the athletics director of the Division II institution being a current dues paying member of the D2 ADA, the student-athletes chosen must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher, have attended a minimum of two years (four semesters) of college level work, and have been an active member of an intercollegiate team during his/her last academic year (given the vast experiences institutions have had this year when it comes to participation, all student-athletes who met the first two items are still eligible as long as they were still an active member of the roster during this academic year).
Below is an alphabetical list of the Urban Knights earning D2 ADA Academic Achievement Awards:
Annie Blumenstein – Volleyball
Nicolas Boffman – Men's Cross Country/Track & Field
Catharina Brant Bambirra – Volleyball
Aitana Comas Adam – Women's Tennis
Raquel Calvo Mendez – Women's Soccer
Zhane Chan – Men's Golf
Alice Coisne – Women's Track & Field
Audrey Courand – Women's Track & Field
Britney Flint – Women's Soccer
Camille Jouanno – Women's Track & Field
Zoey Kister – Volleyball
Julius Kreutzer – Men's Golf
Kylie Lenberg – Volleyball
Hudson Lockette – Men's Cross Country/Track & Field
Vincent Lontz – Baseball
Hannah Moore – Women's Soccer
Brooklyn Morera – Women's Soccer
Hayato Niki – Baseball
Natalia Novak – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
Julia Ortega – Women's Tennis
Nicole Peoples – Women's Soccer
Lara Pflicke – Women's Soccer
Kaze Poitier – Men's Track & Field
Iveta Posledni – Women's Golf
Luka Radovic – Men's Basketball
Picabo Reinhold – Volleyball
Cannon Secrist – Baseball
Yun "Nicole" Shiau – Women's Tennis
Elliot Slade – Men's Track & Field
Hava Turner – Women's Track & Field
Reyna Valencia – Women's Soccer
Brooklyn Villapudua – Women's Soccer
Jillian Wheaton – Volleyball
Katie Williams – Women's Soccer
Alyssa Winter – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
James Young – Men's Cross Country/Track & Field
In addition to Academy of Art, 660 student-athletes from eight other schools within the Pacific West Conference also received honors including Azusa Pacific, Biola, Chaminade, Concordia, Dominican, Holy Names, Point Loma, and UH Hilo.
"It is incredible to think that our athletes excelled in the classroom despite having to deal with the many stressors associated with COVID-19. To see once again that a record-breaking number of students are recipients of the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award is simply astonishing," said D2 ADA President Dr. Bren Stevens, vice president for athletics at the University of Charleston. "I am extraordinarily impressed by the efforts of our member institutions to ensure that they provide special recognitions for their respective athletes, as they are certainly deserving."
