AUSTIN, Texas — Averett University women's basketball sophomore Samm Chandler was voted to the 2015-16 Academic All-America Division III First Team presented by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), the organization announced on Tuesday.

Chandler was one of 15 players across the country named to the Academic All-America Team. She is the first Averett women's basketbal player to earn Academic All-America honors, and is the seventh Cougar student-athlete in any sport to earn Academic All-America honors.

"Samm is a great representation of Averett University and an NCAA D-III student-athlete," Averett women's basketball head coach Liz Hickey said. "Her hard work and determination earned her this recognition. I am proud and thankful for her resilient efforts both in the classroom and on the court."

A native of Burnsville, North Carolina, Chandler was selected to the District 5 Division III Academic All-District Team on Feb. 11, making her eligible for Academic All-America. In the class room, Chandler boasts a 4.00 grade point average in biomedical science and sports management and is a two-time USA South Academic All-Conference selection. On the court, Chandler was named to the 2015-16 USA South All-Conference First Team after averaging a conference-best 17.8 points to go with 7.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.3 blocks this season in 26 games. Chandler also serves as Averett's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) president.

Chandler is the only sophomore on this year's Division III Women's Basketball All-America Team and only one of three selections with a 4.00 GPA.



 

2015-16 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division III Women's Basketball Team
FIRST TEAM
Name	School	Yr.	Hometown	GPA	Major
Holly Denfeld (2)	Milwaukee Engineering	Jr.	Edgar, Wis.	4.00	Architectural eng./construction mgmt
Aubrey Folger	Lancaster Bible	Sr.	South Berwick, Maine	3.88	Sport management
KC McConnell	Whitworth	Sr.	Clarkston, Wash.	3.95	Kinesiology/education
Lisa Murphy	Carnegie Mellon	Jr.	McLean, Va.	3.78	Psychology
Jess Rheinheimer (1)	Eastern Mennonite	Sr.	Manheim, Pa.	3.95	Nursing
SECOND TEAM
Name	School	Yr.	Hometown	GPA	Major
Eireann Anastasi	Delaware Valley	Gr.	Philadelphia, Pa.	3.93	Business administration (accounting)
Sabrina Drammis (1)	MIT	Sr.	Hilton Head Island, S.C.	3.84	Computer science
Jackie Hudepohl	Carnegie Mellon	Jr.	Saratoga, Calif.	4.00	Mathematics (statistics)
Maura McAfee	Hope	Sr.	Midland, Mich.	3.69	Biology
Jill Ritrosky	Eastern Connecticut State	Sr.	Pittsfield, Mass.	3.96	Sport & leisure management
THIRD TEAM
Name	School	Yr.	Hometown	GPA	Major
Cary Beahm	Roanoke	Jr.	Dendron, Va.	3.96	Criminal justice sociology
Samm Chandler	Averett	So.	Burnsville, N.C.	4.00	Biomedical science/sports mgmt.
Malory Christenson	Carroll	Sr.	Appleton, Wis.	3.94	Physical therapy
Jordan Holmes	Denison	Jr.	Pittsburgh, Pa.	3.30	Psychology
Kelsey Tietje	Defiance	Jr.	Deshler, Ohio	3.72	Business administration
CoSIDA Academic All-American® of the Year:  Jess Rheinheimer, Eastern Mennonite
(1) = 2014-15 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division III first team (2) = 2014-15 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division III second team