AUGUSTA, Ga. – Earlier this week the Peach Belt Conference announced the fall sports Teams of Academic Distinction, presented by Barnes & Noble College.  The University of North Georgia placed a combined 20 student-athletes from women's cross country (4), women's soccer (11) and men's soccer (5) on the list.

Ella Stoudenmire from women's cross country and men's soccer player Mattia Balzano highlighted the roster with perfect 4.0 GPA's.

Women's Cross Country
Ella Stoudenmire – Kinesiology/Health & Fitness – 4.0
Claire Mills – Graphic Design – 3.97
Maggie Davidson - Interdisciplinary Studies – 3.62
Ashley Pope - Kinesiology/Health & Fitness – 3.57

Women's Soccer
Olivia Sullens - International Affairs - European Concentration – 3.98
Katie Derkay – Psychology – 3.98
Maysoon El-Shami – Marketing – 3.95
Alexa Aronoff – Marketing – 3.94
Bailey Vessell - Master of Business Administration – 3.90
Natalie Maguire - Kinesiology/Health & Fitness – 3.89
Sierra Fowler – Marketing – 3.84
Arielle Aronoff – Biology – 3.74
Kat Watry – Management – 3.74
Alex Clark - General Studies/Health & Fitness – 3.70
Nikki Gomez - Kinesiology/Health & Fitness – 3.51
 
Men's Soccer
Mattia Balzano - MS in Computer Science – 4.0
Alejandro DeVillena - Kinesiology/Exercise Science – 3.96
Iyan Windham - General Studies/Health & Fitness – 3.90
Harrison Wright - Kinesiology/Exercise Science – 3.83
Payge Sinclair - MS in Computer Science – 3.67

The team is a part of the PBC's larger initiative to celebrate the academic achievements of PBC student-athletes and is modeled on the CSC Academic All-America program.
 
To be eligible for the team, a student-athlete must 1) participate in at least half of his/her team's events and be either a starter or significant contributor; 2) achieved a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) and 3) completed at least one full academic year at his or her current institution and has reached sophomore athletic eligibility. The Peach Belt Conference Sports Information Directors oversee the program.
 
Barnes & Noble College currently operates more than 1,400 campus bookstores and their school-branded e-commerce sites, serving more than 6 million college students and faculty nationwide. As a strategic partner, Barnes & Noble College is a retail and learning company. The company is headquartered in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.