IRVING, Texas – Conference USA's commitment to excellence continues to show as 25 student-athletes have been named to the 2016 C-USA InTouch Credit Union Women's Soccer All-Academic Teams. Nine different schools are represented on the all-academic first team, including three Charlotte student-athletes, while North Texas, UAB and WKU also have a trio of award winners on the two teams.
 
Charlotte leads the first-team selections with seniors Shelby Hicks and Katie O’Neill and junior Martha Thomas, the 2016 C-USA Offensive Player of the Year. Thomas led the league in points (26) and assists (8) and holds a 3.82 GPA in exercise science. A C-USA second-team member, O’Neill recorded three goals and four assists while maintaining a 3.91 GPA in history. Hicks had near perfect GPA at 3.9 in exercise science and tallied a pair of assists during the 49ers’ regular season.
 
Three additional C-USA student-athletes garnered all-academic nods with perfect 4.0 GPAs. Louisiana Tech’s Kathryn Sloan carries a 4.0 GPA in communication arts and design. Sloan ranked in the top-10 in the league in most offensive categories this year including points (24, 2nd), goals (nine, t-2nd) and assists (six, 8th) to earn All-Conference first-team honors. The senior also set a program-record in career points (89) and career goals (36) this year. Lyndsey Lee of Southern Miss recorded two assists on the season has a 4.0 GPA in nursing. UAB’s Marin Carter reached the back of the net once and dished out two assists on the season while maintaining a 4.0 GPA in English.
 
Kathryn Hill of Old Dominion, Southern Miss’ Brittany Taylor and Bri Barreiro of UTEP are all repeat honorees from a year ago. Hill, an all-second team member was third on the Lady Monarchs squad in points with six. Barreiro registered three scores and four assists on the season, while Taylor who recorded two clean sheets also had a league-high 11 saves against Marshall on Sept. 25.
 
Rounding out the InTouch Credit Union C-USA All-Academic Team are four student-athletes that garnered a 3.9 GPA or better in FIU’s Emily Baragar (3.97 GPA), Jordan Parkhurst of Marshall (3.94 GPA), North Texas’s Kelci Slaughter (3.939 GPA) and LA Tech’s Madison Doll (3.9 GPA). 
 
The 2016 Conference USA Women's Soccer Championship kicks off Wednesday at Transamerica Field in Charlotte, North Carolina. Charlotte will host Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, North Texas, Old Dominion, Rice, UTEP and WKU for the eight-team, three-day championship. All four quarterfinal matches and both semifinal games will be streamed on CUSA TV. The championship match is set for Sunday, Nov. 6, at 11 a.m. EST and will be aired live on ESPN3.
 
2016 INTOUCH CREDIT UNION C-USA WOMEN'S SOCCER ALL-ACADEMIC TEAMS
FIRST TEAM
Shelby Hicks - Charlotte, Sr., D, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 3.9 GPA, in exercise science
Katie O’Neill - Charlotte, Sr., M, Kearny, New Jersey, 3.91 GPA, in history
Martha Thomas - Charlotte, Jr., F, Weston, Florida, 3.82 GPA in exercise science
Emily Baragar - FIU, So., D, Virginia Beach, Virginia, 3.97 GPA in biomedical engineering
Madison Doll – Louisiana Tech, Sr., D, Pearl River, Louisiana, 3.9 GPA in psychology
Kathryn Sloan - Louisiana Tech, Sr., F, Kansas City, Missouri, 4.0 GPA in communication arts & design
Jordan Parkhurst - Marshall, Sr., MF, Scottsdale, Arizona, 3.94 GPA in health care management
Kelci Slaughter – North Texas, Jr., D, Granbury, Texas, 3.939 GPA in accounting
Kathryn Hill - Old Dominion, Sr., D, North Ayrshire, Scotland, 3.81 GPA in biology
Lyndsey Lee - Southern Miss, Jr., D, Picayune, Mississippi, 4.0 GPA in nursing
Brittany Taylor- Southern Miss, Sr., GK, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 3.73 GPA in banking & finance
Marin Carter - UAB, So., M, Little Rock, Arkansas, 4.0 GPA in English
Bri Barreiro - UTEP, Sr., MF, El Paso, Texas, 3.96 GPA in pre-business
 
SECOND TEAM
Sydney Drinkwater – Florida Atlantic, Sr., GK, Merritt Island, Florida, 3.299 GPA in exercise science & health promotion
Erica Burt – Florida Atlantic, Sr., D, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, 3.218 GPA in computer engineering
Angie Lai – Middle Tennessee, Sr., M, San Diego, California, 3.398 GPA in marketing
Hailey Sutton – North Texas, GS, F, Red Oak, Texas, 4.0 GPA in journalism
Rachel Holden - North Texas, Sr., F, Lancaster, Texas, 3.515 GPA in kinesiology
Jessica Do - UAB, So., MF, Warner Robins, Georgia, 3.92 GPA in health care management general manager
Kristin Telford - UAB, So., D, Lilburn, Georgia, 4.0 GPA in biomedical sciences
Aleah Davis - UTEP, Sr., MF, El Paso, Texas, 3.44 GPA in kinesiology
Kaja Skare - UTSA, Jr., F, Oslo, Norway, 3.74 GPA in kinesiology
Iris Dunn - WKU, Sr., F, Tavernier, Florida, 3.80 interdisciplinary studies
Caitlin Hesse - WKU, Sr., MF, Atlanta, Georgia, 3.97 GPA in exercise science
Olivia Fitzgerald - WKU, Sr., D, Carmel, Indiana, 3.92 GPA in nursing