COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University women's lacrosse team had four first team selections and led the conference with 18 total Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference All-Academic honorees, which were announced this week by conference officials.
 
The first team all-academic squad was selected by a vote of the conference's six women's lacrosse sports information directors based on a combination of athletic and academic accomplishments.  Nominees for the first team must have at least a 3.5 GPA although nine of the 12 selections have a 3.90 or higher GPAs, including six with perfect 4.0 marks.  Additionally, nominees must have been at their institution for at least one full academic year prior to the season and used a season of eligibility in 2024.
 
Honor roll selections must have a 3.30 or higher GPA and meet the other requirements.  Those not selected for the first team automatically qualify for the honor roll.
 
The Mavs' first team honorees were sophomore Justine Anderson, seniors Elizabeth Renken and Taylor Scott and graduate student Kelsey Viger.  The Mavs' 14 honor roll selections are listed later in this release.
 
Anderson has a perfect 4.0 GPA and is majoring in exercise science.  She was named as the RMAC Attacker of the Year and as a repeat selection to the First Team All-RMAC squad and later went on to be named to the Second Team All-Midwest Region by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA).  The Colorado Springs native led the RMAC for goals per game and was second for points per game (3.94) per game after scoring 54 goals while assisting on 13 others this season.
 
Renken, a biology major and attack from Columbus, Ohio, holds a 3.84 GPA and earned Honorable Mention All-RMAC honors this season after finishing second on the team and fifth in the RMAC with 15 assists.  She was also fourth on the team in total points with 27 and has now earned and RMAC All-Academic honor in each of the last three years.  She was an honor roll pick in both 2022 and 2023.
 
Scott, a counseling psychology major and midfielder out of Parker, Colorado, holds a 4.0 GPA and has now been named to the RMAC All-Academic team in consecutive years after picking up honor roll status in 2022.  She was also named as the repeat winner of the RMAC's Summit Award this year and has been an honorable mention all-conference honoree in each of the last three years.  She tallied 22 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers, second most on the team behind only Viger.
 
Making history as the program's only 2-time IWLCA All-American, Viger completed her bachelor's degree in biology with a 3.63 GPA and began graduate work in sport management this spring.  She earned Third Team IWLCA All-America honors and was named as the RMAC Defender of the Year for the second straight campaign.  She is also a 4-time overall All-RMAC and 3-time first team all-conference pick and earned a pair of IWLCA First Team All-Midwest Region honors.  A native of Savage, Minnesota, Viger ranks sixth nationally and led the RMAC in caused turnovers per game (2.80).  She also set the CMU career record in that category with 147 over the past five seasons, the first of which was cut short due to COVID.  She also finished second in CMU history with 161 career ground balls amongst other accomplishments.
   
Sophie Astone (So., 3.79 GPA, Exercise Science)
Carson Dickey (So., 3.34, Exercise Science)
Sidney Edmonds (So., 3.83, Accounting)
Cameron Flynn (So., 4.00, Environmental Science & Technology)
Ella Freemon (So., 3.94, Graphic Design)
Peyton Ivey (Sr., 3.38, Fitness & Health Promotion)
Devon Morris (So., 3.49, Sociology)
Shannon Murphy (Jr., 3.68, Exercise Science)
Emme Rezoski (Jr., 3.87, Mass Communications)
Sydney Skinner (Jr., 3.57, Biology)
Marley Strasters (Sr., 3.32, Sport Management)
Olivia Turk (So., 3.65, Criminal Justice)
Amber Wennerstrom (Sr., 3.64, Exercise Science)
Izzy Whitt (So., 3.41, Business Administration)