CSC Announces Academic All-District® Teams
 
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Five student-athletes from the UNC Greensboro (UNCG) women's soccer team were named to the 2024 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District® Team, announced on Tuesday.
 
To be eligible, nominated student-athletes must be at least a sophomore and either a starter or important reserve with a minimum 3.50 cumulative grade-point average at their current institution and must have played in 90 percent of the institution's games or must start in at least 66 percent of the school's matches.
 
The Southern Conference (SoCon) had 32 student-athletes represented on the 2024 CSC Academic All-District® Team, including from Wofford (6), Western Carolina (6), Furman (6), Chattanooga (6), UNCG (5) and Mercer (3).
 
Mel Herrera
Senior | Midfielder | Bradenton, Florida

• Completed her undergraduate degree in May 2024 in Human Development and Family Studies earning a 3.93 grade-point average (GPA)
• 2023 CSC Academic All-District® Team
• Currently pursuing her master's degree in social work
• Started and played in all 19 games this season
• Two-year captain for the Spartans
• Scored one goal this season, bringing her career total to four
• Tallied one assist this season, totaling two in her career
• Commissioner's Medal, SoCon Academic Honor Roll, UNCG's Golden Chain Honor Society, SoCon Academic All-Conference, Chancellor's List

 
Rachel Poplin
Redshirt Senior | Midfielder | Winston-Salem, North Carolina

• Has a 3.75 GPA while majoring in Kinesiology
• 2024 SoCon All-Tournament Team
• 2024 SoCon All-Conference Second Team
• Started and played in all 19 games for the Spartans this season
• Scored her first-collegiate goal in a 5-1 victory over VMI and scored her second tally in a 2-1 loss to Samford
• SoCon Academic Honor Roll, SoCon Academic All-Conference, Chancellor's List

 
Emma Malone
Junior | Goalkeeper | Wallingford, Connecticut

• Has a 3.57 GPA while majoring in Elementary Education
• Started in 18 of the 19 games played this season
• 2x SoCon Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 1, Sept. 3)
• Recorded a career-best 1.13 goals-against average, giving up 21 goals this season
• Tallied a career-best 61 saves and .744 save percentage during the 2024 season
• Totaled five shutouts this season, bringing her career total to nine
• Commissioner's Medal, SoCon Academic Honor Roll, SoCon Academic All-Conference, Dean's List

 
Ava Kiss
Junior | Midfielder | Las Vegas, Nevada

• Has a 3.96 GPA while pursuing her degree in Kinesiology
• 2023 CSC Academic All-District® Team
• Started in 16 games and played in all 19 matches this season
• Tallied three goals and three assists this season
• Her three goals finished third on the team
• She now has seven goals and eight assists in her career
• Commissioner's Medal, SoCon Academic Honor Roll, SoCon Academic All-Conference, Chancellor's List

 
Bailey Gourdine
Sophomore | Forward | Mukilteo, Washington

• Has a 3.86 GPA while majoring in business administration
• Scored her second-collegiate goal this season in a 3-3 draw against Mercer
• Chipped in two assists this season
• Has a total of two goals and four assists in her career
• Commissioner's Medal, SoCon Academic Honor Roll, Dean's List, Chancellor's List

 
The Spartans finished up their season with a 5-9-5 overall record and 3-3-3 in SoCon play. UNCG recorded six shutouts this season and 14 Spartans recorded at least one point. UNCG scored 21 goals this season. The Spartans defense allowed 21 goals in its 19-game season with a 1.11 goal against average. The Spartans' 21 goals against was second-lowest in the conference.
 
The CSC recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. Select Academic All-District® honorees will advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced Dec. 10, 2024.
 
About College Sports Communicators
College Sports Communicators (CSC) was founded in 1957 and is a 3,200+ member national association for strategic, creative and digital communicators across intercollegiate athletics in the United States and Canada. The current name of the organization was adopted following a membership-wide vote on Aug. 31, 2022.

From its founding in 1957 until the 2022 name change, the organization was known as College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

The name change signaled a major step in a larger strategic plan to highlight the association's evolution and expansion. The move better aligns with the association's membership makeup and further positions the organization to support and advocate for its members who serve in the communications, digital and creative college sports industry, regardless of position or title.

The organization, which celebrated its 65th year during the 2021-22 academic year, is the second oldest management association in all of intercollegiate athletics. College Sports Communicators became an affiliated partner with NACDA (National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics) in December of 2008.