GREENWOOD, Ind. – In the midst of a tight conference race, FGCU women's basketball players
Taylor Gradinjan and
Jordin Alexander were named to the 2016-17 CoSIDA Academic All-District 4 team. The honor recognizes the nation's top student-athletes based on combined performances athletically and in the classroom and is voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America.
The District 4 team is made up of student-athletes from Division I institutions from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico and South Carolina. To be nominated, student-athletes must be at least a sophomore, a starter or important reserve and must hold a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or higher.
Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wis./Cudahy HS) and Alexander (Fisher, Ind./ Hamilton Southeastern HS/Brown) are now eligible to be selected as a member of the 2016-17 CoSIDA All-America Team ballot, where first, second and third team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.
"Taylor and Jordin are very diligent students," said head coach
Karl Smesko. "We are very proud of their success in the classroom and on the court."
A health sciences graduate student with a perfect 4.00 GPA, Gradinjan represents FGCU's only returning starter after the program graduated nine seniors last season. So far, she's started all 26 games for the Eagles in 2016-17.
On the court, the Gradinjan is averaging 8.1 points per contest and leads the team with 52 three-pointers. She maintains a 33.8 success rate from beyond the arc and has reached double-digit scores eight times this season. The redshirt-junior is fifth all-time on the program's three-point scoring list with 193 triples in her FGCU career.
A graduate student seeking a master's degree in public administration, Alexander also holds a perfect 4.0 GPA. The Indiana-native transferred to FGCU after four years at Brown where she was twice named Second Team All-Ivy League.
Alexander has seen time in all 26 games this season and has started in 24 while averaging 26.1 minutes per game. One of the Eagles most accurate shooters, the redshirt-senior owns a 45.8 shooting percentage. After racking up 10 steals over her last two games, Alexander leads the team with 38 takeaways on the season.
In addition to Gradinjan and Alexander, the District 4 award winners include South Carolina's Kaela Davis, Auburn's Katie Frerking and Presbyterian's Janie Miles. The Eagles grade point averages rank the highest among the group. Gradinjan and Alexander are the ASUN's only All-District award winners this season, but with the accolades, FGCU tallies it's fifth-straight season with an honoree. Alumni and FGCU coach
Stephanie Haas earned the award in 2015-16, while Sarah Hansen earned the accolade for three-consecutive seasons.
NCAA Division I All-District Teams
| District I |
|
|
|
|
| Name |
School |
Year |
GPA |
Major |
| Sigi Koizar |
Maine |
Sr. |
3.97 |
Biology |
| Samantha Cooper |
Fairfield |
Jr. |
3.70 |
Biology |
| Kia Nurse |
UConn |
Jr. |
3.44 |
Liberal Arts |
| Erika Steeves |
Brown |
So. |
3.89 |
Undeclared |
| Lena Munzer |
Yale |
Sr. |
3.68 |
Economics |
| Mckenna Maycock |
St. Bonaventure |
So. |
4.00 |
Accounting |
| District 2 |
|
|
|
|
| Names |
School |
Year |
GPA |
Major |
| Alexus Cooper |
Eastern Kentucky |
Gr. |
4.00, 3.77 (Gr) |
Justice Policy |
| Micah Jones |
Western Kentucky |
Sr. |
3.92 |
Biology |
| Kamila Hoskova |
Rider |
Jr. |
3.80 |
Math & Economics |
| Kristen Confroy |
Maryland |
Jr. |
3.94 |
Physiology & Neurobiology |
| Alyssa Rice |
Kentucky |
Jr |
3.87 |
Accounting |
| District 3 |
|
|
|
|
| Names |
School |
Year |
GPA |
Major |
| Ashley Williams |
NC State |
Sr. |
3.96 |
Industrial Engineering |
| Morgan Jones |
NC Central |
Gr. |
3.96 |
Criminal Justice |
| Lexie Brown |
Duke |
Jr. |
3.65 |
Sociology |
| Rebecca Greenwell |
Duke |
Jr. |
3.50 |
Psychology |
| Emma Brockrath |
Highpoint |
So. |
3.91 |
Biology – Health Science |
| District 4 |
|
|
|
|
| Names |
School |
Year |
GPA |
Major |
| Katie Frerking |
Auburn |
Sr. |
3.74 |
Business Marketing |
| Kaela Davis |
South Carolina |
Jr. |
3.63 |
Integrated Technology |
| Taylor Gradinjan |
FGCU |
Gr. |
4.00, 4.00 (Gr) |
Health Sciences |
| Jordin Alexander |
FGCU |
Gr. |
4.00, 4.00 (Gr) |
Public Administration |
| Janie Miles |
Presbyterian |
Jr. |
4.00 |
Biology |
| District 5 |
|
|
|
|
| Name |
School |
Year |
GPA |
Major |
| Amanda Cahill |
Indiana |
Jr. |
3.90 |
Elementary Education |
| Jessica January |
DePaul |
Sr. |
3.96 |
Communications |
| Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott |
Toledo |
Jr. |
4.00 |
Communications |
| Jordan Korinek |
Kent State |
Jr. |
4.00 |
Special Education |
| Larissa Lurken |
Kent State |
Sr. |
3.72 |
Nursing |
| Ashley Deary |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
3.57 |
Economics |
| District 6 |
|
|
|
|
| Name |
School |
Year |
GPA |
Major |
| Ally Disterhoft |
Iowa |
Sr. |
4.03 |
Finance & Accounting |
| Beatrice Attura |
Northwestern State |
Sr. |
3.94 |
Business Admin. |
| Madison Weekly |
Northern Iowa |
Sr. |
3.82 |
Accounting |
| Carlie Wagner |
Minnesota |
Jr. |
3.64 |
Business & Marketing |
| Allison Arens |
South Dakota |
So. |
3.88 |
Business |
| District 7 |
|
|
|
|
| Name |
School |
Year |
GPA |
Major |
| Cherise Beynon |
New Mexico |
Jr. |
4.07 |
Business Admin. |
| Mikayla Ferenz |
Idaho |
So. |
4.00 |
Applied Mathematics |
| Kaylee Jensen |
Oklahoma State |
Jr. |
3.82 |
Nutritional Sciences |
| Shaelyn Martin |
Kansas State |
Jr. |
4.00 |
Kinesiology |
| Kelsey Lang |
Texas |
Sr. |
3.50 |
Economics |
| District 8 |
|
|
|
|
| Name |
School |
Year |
GPA |
Major |
| Erica McCall |
Stanford |
Sr. |
3.58 |
Psychology |
| Sydney Wiese |
Oregon State |
Sr. |
3.66 |
Speech Communications |
| Rene Coggins |
Northern Arizona |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Accounting/Finance |
| Sophie Brunner |
Arizona State |
Sr. |
3.69 |
Education Studies |
| Bego Faz Davalos |
Fresno State |
Jr. |
3.85 |
Business/Marketing |
| Candice White |
Fresno State |
So. |
4.00 |
Undeclared |
SMESKO
Head coach
Karl Smesko earned his sixth-consecutive ASUN Coach of the Year award with a successful 2015-16 campaign and was named the espnW Mid-Major Coach of the Year. Under his direction, the team has compiled two-straight 30-win seasons with four perfect ASUN regular-season slates in the last five years. The team earned its first top-25 ranking and a third NCAA Tournament appearance as a seven seed in 2014-15 where FGCU won its first ever DI NCAA Tournament game against No. 10 Oklahoma State. With 30 wins and counting this year, Smesko has guided the Eagles to 12-straight 20 win seasons. He maintains a record of 398-80 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.3 with a mark of 153-14 (91.6 W%) in ASUN contests and has led the team to an 89-2 (97.8) record in conference play in the last five seasons. The six-time ASUN Coach of the Year earned his 400th career win in 2014-15 in just 493 career games, two games faster than UConn's Geno Auriemma, and holds a career record of 459-107 (81.1 W%). Smesko ranks among an elite list of just four active Division I coaches with a career win percentage of .800 or higher, joining Auriemma, Baylor's Kim Mulkey and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer in the esteemed group.
SUPPORT THE CAUSE
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
