WINGATE, N.C. – For the second consecutive year, graduate midfielder Maria Marti Bartis (Girona, Spain) has been selected as one of just 93 individuals named as a College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District Women's Soccer selection.
 
A First-Team Academic All-American a year ago, she is one of just 11 student-athletes, and one of only three midfielders, to earn the honor in the Southeast Region. Overall, she is one of 25 midfielders nationwide to be selected for this prestigious honor.
 
"Maria continues to display what it means to be a true scholar-athlete," said Tim Duncan, Director of Athletics. "She has been recognized for her academic and athletic pursuits and for her to be recognized again as an Academic All-District performer is a tremendous honor. We couldn't be more proud of her!"
 
In addition to continuing to excel in the classroom with a 3.80 graduate GPA following a 4.0 during her time as an undergrad, Marti Bartis has delivered another tremendous season on the field. On the year she has nine goals and a career-high tying seven assists for 25 points.
 
With one more goal she will become the first player in team history to reach double-figures in three consecutive years, having scored 15 in 2014 and 11 in 2015. Her 35 career goals have already made her the third most prolific goal scorer in program history.
 
She is also among the leaders in the highly competitive Peach Belt Conference. She is currently second in assists, tied for second in points and tied for fifth in goals.
 
Marti Bartis joins select company as just the 13^th overall selection in Clayton State history and is only the 11^th individual so honored. She joins with Maia Kuhnen (2011-16) as the only other multi-time winner. Kuhnen accomplished the feat in cross country/track & field in each of the last two seasons.
 
In fact, both Marti Bartis and Kuhnen have spearheaded the most successful period in Laker Athletics history when it comes to Academic All-District recognition. Of those 13 total selections, an impressive nine have come in the last five years. The only ones that fall outside that time frame are Gina Papa (Women's Soccer, 1998), Joni Guffey (Women's Cross Country/Track & Field, 2002), Nkiru Okosieme (Women's Soccer, 2004) and Steven Sanders (Men's Golf, 2005).
 
Student-athletes are nominated and selected to the Academic All-District Team by Sports Information Directors who are members of CoSIDA. Each individual must maintain at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA, have been at their current institution for at least one calendar year and be of sophomore standing or higher in order to be nominated.
 
Each selection to the All-District Team is now eligible for Academic All-American consideration. That group, consisting of First-, Second-, Third- and Honorable Mention Teams will be announced on Monday, November 21.
 
ABOUT THE COSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA PROGRAM
The 2016 CoSIDA Division II Academic All-District Women's Soccer Teams, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America, have been released to recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.
 
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 20,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
 
2016 CoSIDA Academic Women's Soccer All-District Teams (Division II District 3)
 

Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown	GPA	Major
GK	Maylyn Parsons	Columbus State	Sr.	Greenville, S.C.	4.00	Engineering Studies
D	Olivia DeJong	Armstrong State	Jr.	Melbourne Beach, Fla.	3.95	Nursing
D	Macy Franklin	Wingate	Sr.	Conover, N.C.	3.75	Athletic Training
D	Kelli McCalla	Tusculum	Sr.	Austin, Texas	3.88	Pre-Physical Therapy
D	Carlie Thornber	Tusculum	Jr.	Oshawa, Ontario, Canada	4.00	Pre-Medicine
M	Maria Marti Bartis	Clayton State	Gr.	Girona, Spain	4.00	Health Administration
M	Kaitlyn Brunworth	Wingate	Jr.	Littleton, Colo.	4.00	Biology
M	Amber Matthew	Young Harris	Sr.	London, England	3.85	Psychology
F	Nicole Corcione	Columbus State	Sr.	Candler, N.C.	3.58	Nursing
F	Jules Herrity	Carson-Newman	Gr.	Donegal, Ireland	3.56	Business Administration
F	Holly Talbut-Smith	Carson-Newman	So.	Crawley, England	3.91	Exercise Science

Clayton State History of Academic All-District Selections (13/11 Individuals)
2016 – Maria Marti Bartis (Women's Soccer)
2016 – Darina Drozdova (At-Large – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field)
2016 – Maia Kuhnen (At-Large – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field)
2015 – Maria Marti Bartis (Women's Soccer)%
2015 – Aleksi Tuominen (Men's Soccer)
2015 – Maia Kuhnen (At-Large – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field)
2013 – Ivana Krommelova (At-Large - Women's Tennis)
2012 – Robert Spezzacatena (At-Large – Men's Cross Country/Track & Field)*
2012 – Russell Lawless (At-Large – Men's Cross Country/Track & Field)
2005 – Steven Sanders (At-Large - Men's Golf)
2004 – Nkiru Okosieme (Women's Soccer)
2002 – Joni Guffey (At-Large – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field)
1998 – Gina Papa (Women's Soccer)
%First-Team Academic All-American (only one in program history)
*Third-Team Academic All-American (first one in program history)