TicketsCINCINNATI - Three members of the University of Cincinnati women's soccer program have earned placement on the CoSIDA Academic All-District 5 teams, the College Sports Information Directors of America announced Thursday. Vanessa Gilles was selected CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team while both Jaycie Brown and Jordan Cotleur were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 5 Second Team.
Gilles, who is now eligible for CoSIDA Academic All-America honors (announced December 7), is just the third Bearcats women's soccer student-athlete to be selected to the district's first team, joining Gigi Ernst (2007) and Christy Hoffman (2001). Since CoSIDA started a soccer category in 2001, only Hoffman has been named an Academic All-American.
The trio honored this year is a record for the program as both Ernst and Kim Sykes were honored in 2007, the only other time more than one Bearcats player had been selected in the same year. To date, Gilles, Brown and Cotleur became the seventh, eighth and ninth Bearcats, respectively, to be named to the district teams as they collected the 10th, 11th and 12th accolades, respectively, in program history.
Gilles, the 2017 American Athletic Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year, sports a 3.97 overall grade-point average and has posted four semesters with a perfect 4.00 GPA during her collegiate career. A two-time AAC All-Conference First Team honoree, Gilles recently played her final collegiate match, helping UC to four years of improved winning percentages, one of the top defenses in the league and a conference title in 2015. Her career saw her start and play 82 matches, the eighth-most in program history, as she anchored a defense that continued to improve each year, helping a program that allowed 37 goals prior to her arrival drop that total to 11 this year.
Brown also played her final match for the Bearcats last week at the conference tournament before earning her first major academic award. A criminal justice major with a 3.76 GPA, Brown recorded her first 4.00 GPA in the Spring 2017 semester to be named a UC TopCat. In her career, Brown scored seven game-winning goals, which ranks as the eighth-most in program history, some of which came in crucial moments, including the equalizer in the final of the 2015 AAC Tournament that forced penalty kicks that UC won, earning the crown and the team's first NCAA appearance since 2002. For her efforts, she was named the Most Outstanding Offensive Player of the Tournament.
Cotleur finished her junior campaign with the Bearcats and currently carries a 3.98 GPA in international affairs. A four-time TopCat honoree, Cotleur has been a disruptive force on the front line for the Bearcats, helping set up goals and stretch the defense. This year, she scored once to bring her career total to seven goals with three assists for 17 points and has tallied three game-winners as well in her 58 appearances for the program.
On a conference level, the Bearcats led the American Athletic with three selections overall and tied Tulsa with the most second-team honorees with two each. UCF, Memphis, SMU and Houston each had one selection with each earning a first-team accolade.
To be eligible, a student-athlete has to hold a 3.30 cumulative GPA, participated in at least 50 percent of his/her team's competitions during the season, been enrolled at the nominating institution at least one full calendar year and has to have reached an academic standing of sophomore or higher.
2017 CoSIDA Academic All-District 5
Vanessa Gilles • First Team
Jaycie Brown • Second Team
Jordan Cotleur • Second Team
Cincinnati's All-Time CoSIDA All-District Honorees
2017 • Vanessa Gilles (1st) • Jaycie Brown (2nd) • Jordan Cotleur (2nd)
2014 • Jae Atkinson (2nd)
2010 • Sydney Barker (3rd)
2008 • Kim Sykes (2nd)
2007 • Gigi Ernst (1st) • Kim Sykes (2nd)
2006 • Kim Sykes (2nd)
2005 • Gigi Ernst (2nd)
2003 • Rachel Lieberman (3rd)
2001 • Christy Hoffman (1st)
Gilles, who is now eligible for CoSIDA Academic All-America honors (announced December 7), is just the third Bearcats women's soccer student-athlete to be selected to the district's first team, joining Gigi Ernst (2007) and Christy Hoffman (2001). Since CoSIDA started a soccer category in 2001, only Hoffman has been named an Academic All-American.
The trio honored this year is a record for the program as both Ernst and Kim Sykes were honored in 2007, the only other time more than one Bearcats player had been selected in the same year. To date, Gilles, Brown and Cotleur became the seventh, eighth and ninth Bearcats, respectively, to be named to the district teams as they collected the 10th, 11th and 12th accolades, respectively, in program history.
Gilles, the 2017 American Athletic Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year, sports a 3.97 overall grade-point average and has posted four semesters with a perfect 4.00 GPA during her collegiate career. A two-time AAC All-Conference First Team honoree, Gilles recently played her final collegiate match, helping UC to four years of improved winning percentages, one of the top defenses in the league and a conference title in 2015. Her career saw her start and play 82 matches, the eighth-most in program history, as she anchored a defense that continued to improve each year, helping a program that allowed 37 goals prior to her arrival drop that total to 11 this year.
Brown also played her final match for the Bearcats last week at the conference tournament before earning her first major academic award. A criminal justice major with a 3.76 GPA, Brown recorded her first 4.00 GPA in the Spring 2017 semester to be named a UC TopCat. In her career, Brown scored seven game-winning goals, which ranks as the eighth-most in program history, some of which came in crucial moments, including the equalizer in the final of the 2015 AAC Tournament that forced penalty kicks that UC won, earning the crown and the team's first NCAA appearance since 2002. For her efforts, she was named the Most Outstanding Offensive Player of the Tournament.
Cotleur finished her junior campaign with the Bearcats and currently carries a 3.98 GPA in international affairs. A four-time TopCat honoree, Cotleur has been a disruptive force on the front line for the Bearcats, helping set up goals and stretch the defense. This year, she scored once to bring her career total to seven goals with three assists for 17 points and has tallied three game-winners as well in her 58 appearances for the program.
On a conference level, the Bearcats led the American Athletic with three selections overall and tied Tulsa with the most second-team honorees with two each. UCF, Memphis, SMU and Houston each had one selection with each earning a first-team accolade.
To be eligible, a student-athlete has to hold a 3.30 cumulative GPA, participated in at least 50 percent of his/her team's competitions during the season, been enrolled at the nominating institution at least one full calendar year and has to have reached an academic standing of sophomore or higher.
2017 CoSIDA Academic All-District 5
Vanessa Gilles • First Team
Jaycie Brown • Second Team
Jordan Cotleur • Second Team
Cincinnati's All-Time CoSIDA All-District Honorees
2017 • Vanessa Gilles (1st) • Jaycie Brown (2nd) • Jordan Cotleur (2nd)
2014 • Jae Atkinson (2nd)
2010 • Sydney Barker (3rd)
2008 • Kim Sykes (2nd)
2007 • Gigi Ernst (1st) • Kim Sykes (2nd)
2006 • Kim Sykes (2nd)
2005 • Gigi Ernst (2nd)
2003 • Rachel Lieberman (3rd)
2001 • Christy Hoffman (1st)