Photo Credit: Brian Jenkins
America East Release

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Vermont junior forward Jessica Becker (Woodbridge, Conn.) has been named to the 2009 America East Women's Soccer All-Academic Team. The league office made the announcement on Wednesday.

Becker is one of 12 America East student-athletes selected to the team. These student-athletes excel both academically and athletically and represent the best of the America East Conference.

Becker, an English major with a 3.39 grade-point average, played in all 17 games and earned 14 starts. She finished the season with six points, on two goals and two assists, and ranked third on the team in scoring.

The America East All-Academic squads are a product of the June 2005 Athletics Directors meeting where faculty representatives and athletics directors from each of the conference’s nine member institutions decided to honor the league’s top student-athletes, who excel equally in the classroom as they do on the playing field.

For the second straight year, America East will select the All-Academic teams using CoSIDA’s Academic All-America program as a model. Student-athletes worthy of consideration are nominated by member sports information directors and voted on by a committee of SIDs, academic advisors and faculty representatives from all nine member institutions.

All-Academic squads for team sports are based on the number of athletes that participate in a contest at one time (e.g., 11 on the field for soccer) but can be more if there is a tie in voting. To be nominated for the distinction, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve for their team and participate in at least 50 percent of their team’s games or competitions. In the classroom, student-athletes must have a 3.30 GPA and have completed at least one calendar year at their institution. Freshmen are not eligible for consideration.