CoSIDA Academic All-America At-Large Teams

A trio of CAC student-athletes earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors as members of the at-large team, announced Tuesday. Salisbury women's lacrosse senior Megan Wallenhorst and Mary Washington field hockey senior Haley Kane claimed first team accolades, while St. Mary's women's swimming senior Cara Machlin was named to the third team. 

The Academic All-America at-large teams consists of student-athletes from field hockey, swimming, tennis, lacrosse, water polo, and golf.

Salisbury's Wallenhorst led the way as a repeat Academic All-America pick after securing second team honors last year. Wallenhorst becomes the eighth first-team Academic All-America in SU history and just the second from the women's lacrosse program. 

Wallenhorst closed the 2016 season by leading the Salisbury team in assists (38) and points (66) while finished second with 28 goals. She ranked second in the CAC and 34th nationally in assists. Wallenhorst led the Sea Gulls to their 16th CAC championship this year and 17th NCAA tournament appearance, advancing to the regional final. The Ellicott City, Md. native graduated with a 4.0 cumulative GPA as a business accounting major.

Mary Washington's Kane becomes the 12th student-athlete in Mary Washington history to gain Academic All-America status, and the third to be a first-team choice. Kane, who on Monday was named the CAC Female Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year, was a psychology major who graduated with a 4.00 cumulative GPA. In 2015-16, she repeated as the National Field Hockey Coaches Association's (NFHCA) NCAA Division III Scholar Athlete of the Year in the second year of the award's existence, given to the All-American with the highest cumulative GPA. She also was awarded as the 2015 and 2016 UMW Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was a four-year member of the UMW Honor Roll, a four-year member of the NFHCA National Academic Team, and a four-time recipient of the NFHCA National Scholar of Distinction award.

Kane concluded her career last fall as a third team NFHCA All-American, gaining All-America honors for the second straight year. She collected all-region honors for the fourth straight time after finishing third in school history in assists. She finished her career with 36 goals and 28 assists, good for 100 career points. She was a four-time CAC all-star, earning second team accolades as a freshman in 2012 before receiving first team honors three consecutive years.

St. Mary's Machlin, a team captain this season, graduated with a Bachelors of Art in Mathematics and a 4.0 cumulative GPA for summa cum laude honors. She made the school's Dean's List every semester and was twice named a St. Mary's Scholar. A four-time member of the CAC All-Academic Team, she was named the 2015-16 St. Mary's Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Machlin served as a mathematics teaching assistant and is a member of the Association for Women in Mathematics. After graduation, she is considering joining AmeriCorps and then eventually attending graduate school.

In the pool, Machlin finished her career as a 13-time All-CAC selection and leaves St. Mary's as the record holder in the 500 and 1,650 freestyle events as well as the 800 freestyle relay. She picked up four second team All-CAC honors at this year's CAC Women's Swimming Championships in her final season.