PORTLAND -- On Tuesday, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference announced its 2015-16 All-Academic Team for men's and women's basketball and the Alaska Nanooks were well represented, as both the men's team and women's basketball teams had three representatives apiece.
Senior Heidi Pichler and juniors Kaillee Skjold and Jordan Wilson were named to the women's All-GNAC Academic team, while seniors Alex Duncan, Isaac Ladines and Joe Slocum were selected on the men's side. To qualify for the GNAC All-Academic teams, a student-athlete must be in their sophomore year of eligibility with a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or better.
The three selections for the women's basketball team marks the most for the Nanooks since the 2008-09 season. Wilson, an Arts & Science major, led the way with her 3.93 cum GPA. Pichler, an Accounting major, followed with a 3.88 GPA, while Skjold, an Emergency Management major, rounded the trio out with a 3.75 GPA, while. It is the second selection for Skjold and Wilson, while this year's selection is the first for Pichler.
"We take academic success seriously here," said women's head coach Cody Bench. "I have a dedicated group of young women who know the value of an education. They put a lot of hard work and time into their studies and I'm really proud of our girls for being selected to this team."
This year's three selections for the men's team marks the third time in four season that the Nanooks have had at least three representatives on the GNAC Academic All-Conference team. Slocum, a redshirt senior who graduated from UAF summa cum laude last year, is working on his MBA and posted the team's highest cum GPA with a 3.71. Duncan, a Psychology and Communications double major, followed with a 3.51 GPA, while Ladines, a Civil Engineering major posted a 3.48 GPA.
"We're as proud of these all-academic selections as we are for any player of the week or all-conference award any player for us wins," expressed men's basketball head coach Mick Durham. "For us, we feel like academic success goes hand-in-hand with our on court success. All three players are very deserving. They all came in as excellent student-athletes, and they've maintained that during their time at UAF."
A total of 69 GNAC student-athletes (47 women, 22 men) were selected to the GNAC All-Academic team. Montana State Billings topped the conference on the women's side with seven selections, while newcomer Concordia finished with the most selections on the men's side with four.
The Alaska Nanooks men's and women's basketball team both conclude the 2015-16 regular season this week. The men's team is on the road at Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene, while the women will play host to Simon Fraser and Western Washington.
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