Wednesday, December 20, 2023
by Thomas Lal

PORTLAND, Ore. –  Western Washington senior goalkeeper Claire Henninger was one of the best players in the conference this season between the pipes and backed that up with a stellar performance in the classroom to be named a member of the 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Team for NCAA Division II.

The award recognizes the top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom in each of the NCAA’s three divisions as well as the NAIA. Among the 27 GNAC players named to the CSC Academic All-District Team, Henninger was the lone player from the conference to be named an Academic All-American.

Henninger earned selection to the second team with a 3.95 grade point average as a Kinesiology/Sport Psychology graduate student at Western Washington University. The honor comes in a year where she also earned selection to the GNAC All-Academic Team and the CSC Academic All-District Team along with first team all-conference honors.

On the field, Henninger was one of the most complete goalkeepers in the conference, earning selection as the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year. She led the GNAC with a 0.61 goals against average and a .838 save percentage across 19 matches. Across those 19 matches, Henninger started every game and played 1,630 minutes while making 57 saves for the top-ranked defense in the conference. Along with her starting role in the WWU net, Henninger amassed a GNAC-leading nine shutouts on the season.

Henninger rounded out her career for the Vikings with 31 wins, a 0.59 goals against average, a .820 save percentage and 21 shutouts.