GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Six different Colorado Mesa University female student-athletes from three different sports have been the 2025-26 NCAA Division II Academic All-District® Team selected by College Sports Communicators for Women's At-Large Sports, recently released by the organization.
 
The list of Maverick representatives includes beach volleyball players Ewelina Gacek and Lauren Rohlwing, lacrosse players Sophie Astone and Heather Hawkins and wrestlers Sophia Cornish and Gretchen Donally and come from a group of 13 NCAA women's sports that do not have their own individual Academic All-District/All-America® teams.
 
This year marks the first time that women's wrestling, a new NCAA championship, sport has been on that list, which includes four sports that CMU sponsors.
 
Notably, Gacek, Rohlwing and Donally have also advanced to the national ballot for Academic All-America® honors, which will be voted on by CSC membership and announced on July 7.
 
To be eligible for nomination, student-athletes must have a 3.50 or higher GPA, be a sophomore or above both academically and athletically and meet lofty participation standards, outlined here.
 
Furthermore, institutions are limited to six nominations per gender.
 
The Maverick men also had six selections from two sports in golfer Leo Lavalle and five lacrosse players.
 
Gacek, a graduate student from Justice, Illinois and Rohlwing, a sophomore from Parker, Colorado, helped the Maverick beach volleyball team to a 19-9 overall record, including a 10-1 mark against NCAA Division II opponents.  The Mavs also went 5-1 at the AVCA Small College Beach Championships and won the Silver Bracket.
 
Gacek, who holds a 3.83 GPA in her master's of business administration program at CMU, joined the Maverick squad in 2025-26 after playing four years of indoor volleyball at NCAA Division I George Mason, where she recorded a 3.97 GPA while earning a bachelor's degree in criminal justice.  She went 18-8 on the sand for the Mavs the spring, playing mostly in the No. 2 position with partner Ania Swartzendruber.  The duo went 18-4 overall and earned an AVCA Top Flight Award.
 
Rohlwing, a sophomore biology major, has a perfect 4.00 GPA.  On the sand, she went 22-5 this season, playing mostly on Court 4 with partner Regan Rothley.  The pair went 21-2 overall, including a 19-2 record at No. 4 and were also AVCA Top Flight Award winners.  They won their last six matches and went 5-0 with one unfinished match at the AVCA Small College Championships.
 
Donally, a sophomore from Ballantine, Montana, holds a 3.94 GPA and is majoring in civil engineering.  She led the Maverick women's wrestling team with 29 wins and went 29-12 overall and 14-6 in duals while wrestling at 145 pounds.  She also had six pins and placed fourth at the NCAA Region VI Championships, helping the Mavs to a third place team finish. 
 
The Huntley Project High School graduate has a 56-20 record in her two seasons with the Mavs and is a 2-time National Wrestling Coaches Association Scholar All-American.  She also earned a spot on the First Team Academic All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference squad this season.
 
Cornish, a sophomore out of Mission Viejo, California, has a 3.60 GPA and is majoring in biology.  She was also named to the First Team Academic All-RMAC team and was selected as a NWCA Scholar All-American for the second straight year.
 
She went 25-11 this season and won the RMAC Championship at 117 pounds.  She has a 47-18 career record in two seasons with the Mavs.
 
Meanwhile, Astone and Hawkins both earned All-RMAC honors for their on-field play and were named to the First Team Academic All-RMAC unit as well.
 
Astone, a senior defender from Littleton, Colorado, has a 3.86 GPA while majoring in exercise science.  In 2026, she started all 18 games and led the Mavericks with 52 draw controls and 21 caused turnovers while also recording 28 ground balls to pick up First Team All-RMAC honors.
 
This is the latest of a string of academic awards as she has also been named to the RMAC Academic Honor Roll in each of the last three seasons.  She was also named to the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Honor Roll in 2025 and will be nominated for that award again later this summer.
 
Hawkins, a sophomore music major out of Palmer Lake, Colorado, has a perfect 4.00 GPA.  She started all 18 of the Mavs' games in goal and earned Second Team All-RMAC honors after finishing the season ranked second in the RMAC statistics for both goals against average (10.71) and save percentage.  She recorded 153 saves this season, the second highest total in program history, and also led the team with 50 ground balls while recording 16 caused turnovers.
 
She also earned RMAC Goalkeeper and RMAC Freshman of the Year honors in 2025.