CoSIDA Release
AUSTIN, Texas – On Wednesday, two Alaska Nanooks were distinguishably honored for their work in the classroom and on the ski trails, as junior
Nichole Bathe and redshirt junior
Michael Fehrenbach were both selected to the 2016 Academic All-America Division II Men's and Women's At-Large teams as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Bathe was named to the Academic All-America Women's At-Large (Division II) Second Team, while Fehrenbach was selected to the First Team. It is the first Academic All-America honor for the two Alaska Nanook Nordic skiers.
"What an amazing accomplishment for Michael and Nichole!" Alaska Athletic Director
Dr. Gary Gray said on Wednesday. "We are so pleased and proud of these two magnificent student-athletes in our Nanooks Athletic program. They both epitomize the NCAA Division II principle of striving for excellence academically, athletically, personally, socially and in many other areas. They are both extremely hard working individuals, so you can imagine how exciting it is to see both Michael and Nichole be recognized with these Academic All-America awards."
Earlier this spring, Fehrenbach and Bathe, alongside swimming's Linnea Doumas and fellow skier
Martina Himma were each named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America District Eight At-Large First Team. The four honorees advanced to the All-America voting portion, where Bathe and Fehrenbach were selected. The at-large program for the CoSIDA Academic All-America program includes the sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis, water polo for both men and women; bowling, crew and field hockey for women; and volleyball and wrestling for men.
Fehrenbach receives the Academic All-America honor after a spectacular season on the ski trails and also in the classroom. A Mechanical Engineer at Alaska, Fehrenbach holds a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average (GPA), one of only three 4.0's in the 15 Academic All-America First Team selections. In addition, Fehrenbach is only one of two skiers to be named to the Academic All-America At-Large First Team. Academically this past season, Fehrenbach was named the men's Nordic ski Scholar-Athlete of the Year and received the highest NCAA academic honor of all, the Elite 90 award at the 2016 NCAA Skiing Championships this past March.
This past season, Fehrenbach was named a NCAA Central Region Champion after placing first overall in the mass-start, classic race in late February. The redshirt junior was also the only Alaska Nanook from the men's Nordic ski team to qualify and appear at the 2016 NCAA Skiing Championships and was also named the team's Most Valuable Skier at the conclusion of the season. In 2015-16, Fehrenbach had five top-five finishes overall in the 15-race schedule and six first-place finishes amongst Nanook teammates.
In his four-year career with the Alaska Nanooks, Fehrenbach (a dual-sport athlete with ski and cross country) is a two-time Elite 90 award winner (2016 & 2014), three-time Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR) Scholar-Athlete, a USCSCA All-Academic team selection (2013) and a three-time Alaska Nanooks men's Nordic ski Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Bathe, also a dual-sport athlete with the Alaska Nanooks (ski and cross country), holds a 3.76 GPA in Elementary Education at Alaska. Besides her accomplishments in skiing, Bathe was named to the GNAC All-Academic Team earlier this fall after the conclusion of the cross country running season. As the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee's (SAAC) President, Bathe was named the Alaska Nanooks' Bart LeBon Humanitarian of the Year for her hard work in SAAC's effort to raise money for three different charities around Fairbanks this past season.
During the 2015-16 ski season, Bathe was named a Second Team All-American for her top-ten finish at the 2016 NCAA Skiing Championships earlier this spring. Prior to the NCAAs, Bathe was named the NCAA Central Region Runner-Up, while also collecting seven top-ten overall finishes throughout the 2015-16 campaign. At the conclusion of the season, Bathe was named the Alaska Nanooks women's Nordic ski team's Co-MVP with fellow junior
Anne-Tine Markset and also named to the 2015-16 Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) All-Region Second Team.
Throughout her three years as a Nanook, Bathe has made two NCAA Skiing appearances, was named the Alaska Nanooks' Most Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year (2014), a First Team All-American at the 2014 NCAAs, an NCAA Central Region Champion (2014) and a CCSA All-Region Selection.
The list of 2016 Academia All-America Teams that Fehrenbach & Bathe were named to are listed below:
2016 Academic All-America Men's At-Large Division II
First Team
Sport Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major
Swimming Matheus Assis (2) Saint Leo Sr. Joao Pessoa, Brazil 3.86 Management & Marketing
Wrestling Corbin Bennetts (1) Western State Gr. Buena Vista, Colo. 3.96 Biology (U), Environ. (G)
Swimming Micah Cattell Edinboro Sr. Port Matilda, Pa. 4.00 Early/Special Education
Swimming Michael Cohn UC San Diego Jr. Solana Beach, Calif. 3.97 Music
Skiing
Michael Fehrenbach Alaska Fairbanks Jr. Saint Margen, Germany 4.00 Mechanical Engineering
Swimming Gianni Ferrero (1) Grand Valley Sr. Idstein, Germany 3.83 Business Administration
Swimming Diego Gimenez Florida Southern Jr. Burgos, Spain 3.90 Computer Science
Golf Brad Hawkins Tusculum Sr. Knoxville, Tenn. 3.60 Sport Management
Golf Calum Hill (3) W. New Mexico Sr. Kinross, Switzerland 3.91 Business Administration
Swimming Evan Jacob Saint Leo Sr. St. Johns, Fla. 3.96 Management
Tennis Renato Lombardi Barry Sr. Lausanne, Switzerland 3.90 Finance
Skiing Adam Martin Northern Mich. Jr. Wausau, Wis. 4.00 Computer Science/Math
Golf Joey Savole Saint Leo Jr. Saint-Jean-Richelieu, Queb. 3.90 Accounting/Management
Swimming Keith Sponsler (1, @) Miss. Sci. & Tech. Sr. Lincoln, Neb. 3.92 Nuclear Engineering
Tennis Ahmed Triki (3) Barry Jr. Tuinis, Tunisia 3.41 Finance
2016 Academic All-America Women's At-Large Division II
Second Team
Sport Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major
Skiing
Nichole Bathe Alaska Fairbanks Jr. Madison, Wis. 3.76 Elementary Education
Tennis Jamie Lee Denton St. Mary's (TX) Sr. San Angelo, Texas 3.95 English
Tennis Marija Dimitrovska (3) TX A&M-Kingsville Sr. Skopje, Macedonia 4.00 Industrial Management
Golf Caroline Fredensborg Arkansas Tech So. Roskilde, Denmark 4.00 Broadcast Journalism
Tennis Franziska Funke Tusculum So. Bochum, Germany 4.00 Psychology
Tennis Saioa Gomez De Segura Mercyhurst So. Victoria, Spain 4.00 Business
Lacrosse Jacqueline Jahelka Adelphi Jr. Garden City, New York 3.84 Education
Golf Calley Lawson (3) Tusculum Sr. Gaithersburg, Mar. 4.00 Ele./Special Education
Tennis Cristina Lopez (3) St. Mary's (TX) Sr. San Antonio, Texas 3.88 Accounting
Swimming Elly Maleski (2, @) Wayne State (MI) Sr. Cedar, Mich. 3.64 Biomedical Engineering
Water Polo Courtney Miller (3) UC San Diego Sr. Honolulu, Hawaii 3.79 Cognitive Science
Lacrosse Maggie Monnat Le Moyne Sr. Baldwinsville, New York 3.96 Biology
Swimming Lauren Slayton Clarion Sr. White Lake, Mich. 3.88 Athletic Training
Swimming Nancy Claire Smith Carson-Newman Jr. Franklin, Tenn. 4.00 Chemistry
Swimming Sarah Zerfoss Clarion Sr. Shavertown, Pa. N/A N/A
(1) – CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team Selection 2015
(2) – CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team Selection 2015
(3) – CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team Selection 2015
(!) – CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team Selection 2014
(@) – CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team Selection 2014
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