Women's soccer trio earns Academic All-District honors

ORANGE, Calif. - Three Chapman University women's soccer players have been named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VIII team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Sophomore F Kate Lilly, junior D Nicole Santo and senior F Stephanie Lambrakis each were honored. The Panthers have never had as many as three players named to the Academic All-District team in the program's history.

Lilly was named to the All-District first team and will advance to the Academic All-America ballot with a 3.88 grade-point average in film production. The sophomore ranked second on the Panthers with five goals and 12 points this season, one year after setting a Chapman rookie record with 10 goals and 23 points. Lilly, who started in 15 games and played over 1,100 minutes, also scored a game winning goal against La Sierra University on Sept. 28.

Santo and Lambrakis were each named to the All-District second team at their positions. Santo, a double-major in Graphic Design and Public Relations/Advertising, has a 3.78 grade-point average. As a junior she played 1,201 minutes in the Chapman backfield, a defense that posted eight team shutouts and a 1.16 goals-against average.

Meanwhile, Lambrakis enjoyed the best offensive season of her career, setting personal highs and leading the team with nine goals - including two game-winners - and 21 points. She also started all 19 games to help the Chapman to a 12-7 overall record. The senior forward finished her career with 18 goals and 49 career points. She has a 3.63 GPA in Public Relations/Advertising.

They are the first Chapman women's soccer players to be selected to the Academic All-District VIII team since Lindsey Lewis in 2006.

The ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America Teams program honors 816 male and female student-athletes annually who have succeeded at the highest level on the playing field and in the classroom. Individuals are selected through voting by CoSIDA, a 2,000 member organization consisting of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.

To be eligible, student-athletes must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.3 on a scale of 4.0, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.

Chapman is a member of the District VIII College Division, which includes Division II, III and NAIA schools from throughout the Western United States.