Friday, November 9, 2018

PORTLAND, Ore. – Continuing a longstanding tradition of excellence in the classroom, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference is represented by seven players on the 2018 Google Cloud/CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 Men's Soccer Team.

The league is led by Western Washington, who had three players selected in defender Garrett Strawn, forward Christian Rotter and midfielder/defender Jeremiah Lee.

This marks Strawn's (3.80 GPA) second straight year making the team, while Rotter earned the nod after tallying a 3.82 GPA as a manufacturing & supply chain management major. Rotter shined on the attack this season, finishing second on the team with 13 points on five goals and three assists. Strawn started 13 matches and appeared in 16 on the 2018 campaign. 

A Second Team All-GNAC selection this season, Lee played a critical role in his team's second-place finish. The junior was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week on two occasions this season, starting all 18 matches for a club that placed second in the league in goals allowed (22) and shutouts (7). Lee recorded a 3.67 GPA as a business management major. 

Seattle Pacific is the other GNAC side with multiple players represented on the All-District Team.

Sophomore Travis Swallow, a business administration major earning a 4.00 GPA, started 16 matches for the Falcons and anchored an offense from his midfield position that finished second in the GNAC in points (96) and goals (34). Swallow shined brightest in a mid-October match against Western Washington, where he tallied both a goal and an assist in a 4-2 victory over the Vikings. Defender Luke Postma joins the SPU selections with a 3.98 GPA. An accounting major, Postma started 18 games in his final season in Seattle. 

Rounding out the all-district representatives are Saint Martin's forward Brandon Madsen and Montana State Billings midfielder Guillaume Kremer. Both played integral roles on their respective sides throughout the 2018 campaign.

Madsen posted a 3.58 GPA en route to First Team All-GNAC honors, while Kremer (3.54 GPA) was named to the conference's second team.

The GNAC competed with the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and Pacific West conferences for selections to the NCAA Division II District 8 All-Academic First Team. The conference's seven players equaled more than CCAA and PacWest's combined representatives.

Nominated and voted upon by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), the Academic All-District program recognizes student-athletes of sophomore standing or better who are starters or significant reserves for their team with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or better. Academic All-District selections will be forwarded for Academic All-American Team consideration, released in early December.