NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Seven Vanderbilt student-athletes from four sports programs were named to the College Sports Communicators’ at-large academic all-district teams released Tuesday.
The group includes bowling’s Mabel Cummins, Amanda Naujokas and Caroline Thesier, Brianne Gross from the lacrosse team, women’s golf’s Celina Sattelkau, and men’s golfers Matthew Riedel and Cole Sherwood.
In order to be nominated for academic all-district honors, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) and hold at least sophomore standing academically and athletically. Each individual is now eligible to be voted Academic All-America®.
Cummins was named first-team All-America and the national player of the year by the National Tenpin Coaches Association this season, also earning all-region and Southland Bowling League Bowler-of-the-Year honors. The Hermitage, Tennessee, resident was a second-team All-American each of the previous two seasons as well, earned honorable mention All-America recognition as a freshman and earned her degree in neuroscience this month.
Naujokas, a junior from Lake Ronkonkoma, New York, is a double major in child studies and human & organizational development. She was named to the NTCA All-Freshman Honor Squad and made the Kat Klash Classic all-tournament team her first season with the Dores, and was voted to the Southland Bowling Championship all-tournament team the following year as well after helping Vandy to the championship.
Originally from Mooresville, North Carolina, Thesier was selected second-team All-America and first-team all-region by the NTCA, adding third-team all-conference accolades this spring. The junior, who is majoring in psychology, was also a third-team All-Southland selection the previous season and has made the all-tournament team at the Stormin’ Blue & White Vegas Classic each of the last two years.
The three combined to help lead the team to the national championship this spring—the third for the Commodores since 2007—while Cummins and Thesier were also part of sixth 300 Baker game in program history during the first day of the Ladyjack Classic in November.
Gross capped her career by earning second-team All-American Athletic Conference honors in the spring after posting 19 goals, the second-highest total on the team highlighted by three hat tricks, and 25 points. An honorable mention All-America selection by both ILWomen and USA Lacrosse Magazine in 2022, and first-team all-conference each of the previous two seasons, she earned her undergraduate degree in engineering science and is working toward a master’s degree in engineering management.
Sattelkau posted a 71.2 scoring average and was first-team All-SEC this spring after helping lead Vandy to its second consecutive berth in the NCAA Championships. The Neustadt, Germany, native picked up first-team all-league recognition while earning All-America honors from both Golfweek and the Women’s Golf Coaches Association after qualifying for the NCAA Championships as a sophomore, and she received her degree after majoring in both psychology and communication of science and technology this month.
The fifth-ranked golfer in the SEC and among the top 25 in the nation, Riedel—who hails from Houston—was a finalist for the Byron Nelson Award and named first-team All-SEC this season and is carrying a 70.6 stroke average into the NCAA Championships. An economics major, he has recorded six top-10 finishes this season, highlighted by claiming medalist honors at the 2022 SEC Match Play presented by Jerry Pate, and was also named to the SEC Men’s Golf Community Service Team.
Sherwood was a first-team PING All-American, all-region and All-SEC honoree in 2021-22, adding second-team all-conference honors this spring after posting a 70.9 scoring average. The Austin, Texas, resident, who is majoring in human & organization development, also received the Michael Carter “Junior” Memorial Award while competing at the Palmer Cup this season, and was was named to the SEC Men’s Golf Community Service Team in 2022.
The two have helped Vandy earn the No. 1 overall national seed in the year’s NCAA Championships and six tournament titles during the 2022-23 campaign.
