NESCAC Offensive Player of the Year Elsi Aires and Defensive Player of the Year Lena Sugrue of the Tufts University women's soccer team are recipients of 2025-26 Academic All-America® Women's Soccer Team honors as selected by College Sports Communicators (CSC).
The award recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. A total of 33 players from across the country are selected to three teams. Tufts is one of eight schools with multiple recipients. The duo's recognition raises the NESCAC all-time CSC Acacdemic All-America count to 427 student-athletes and 29 in women's soccer.
Aires is on the Academic All-America® second team in Division III, while Sugrue garnered third team honors. This marks the first time that the Tufts team has two members on the Academic All-America® team. It's Tufts' first Academic All- America® recognition in women's soccer since 2020 when Sophie Lloyd was selected. The Jumbos are the only NESCAC team with anyone honored this year.
Aires was the second-leading scorer and Sugrue a leading defender on the 2025 Tufts team that was the #1 seed in NESCAC for the regular-season, won the NESCAC Tournament championship, entered the post-season as the #4 team in the NPI rankings and then advanced to the NCAA Division III semifinals. The Jumbos' 18-2-3 final record tied for the most wins in school history.
A biology major with a 3.85 grade point average, Aires was a member of the team's leadership committee and scored 11 goals with five assists for 27 points this year. A first-team All-American as selected by United Soccer Coaches, she tied for the NESCAC lead in goals. A three-time All-American in her career, Aires finished second all-time at Tufts in goals (41) and points (97). She was a 2024 CSC Academic All-District® honoree and three-time Academic All-NESCAC team member (2023-25).
Sugrue is a civil engineering major who holds a 3.76 GPA. The leader of the back line, she was a United Soccer Coaches All-Region and NESCAC All-Conference first team honoree. Her play helped the Jumbos allow just 13 goals and earn 14 shutouts in their 23 games. She contributed three goals and four assists for 10 points as well, including two game-winning goals. Sugrue was a 2024 Academic All-District® Women's Soccer Team member as well as a three-time NESCAC All-Academic Team recipient.
| FIRST TEAM |
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
| GK |
Abby Winkler |
Pacific Lutheran University |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Biology |
| GK |
Abby Nunez |
Brevard College |
Jr. |
3.89 |
Exercise Science |
| D |
Katie Diem |
Cortland |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Biology |
| D |
Annebel Balogh de Galantha (3) |
Emmanuel College |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Psychology |
| D |
Lila Brown |
Dickinson College |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Environmental Science |
| D |
Gabriella Baltes (1) |
Illinois Tech |
Sr. |
3.94 |
Biochemistry |
| M |
Natalie Barnouw (2)(4) |
MIT |
Gr. |
3.80/3.80 |
Computational Biology |
| M |
Sarah Zimmerman (1) |
Washington and Lee University |
Sr. |
3.89 |
Business Administration & Mathematics |
| M |
Anna Hoffman |
Lake Forest College |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Economics & Data Science |
| F |
Emma Livingston |
Spalding University |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Business Administration |
| F |
Jayla Ponce |
Augsburg University |
Gr. |
4.00/4.00 |
Business Administration (G) |
| F |
Aubree Caya |
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse |
Jr. |
3.83 |
Biomedical Science |
| SECOND TEAM |
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
| D |
Vivian Rojas Collins |
Pomona-Pitzer |
Jr. |
4.00 |
Neuroscience |
| D |
Tahlia Lloyd |
Messiah University |
Sr. |
3.99 |
Business Administration |
| D |
Madeline Seebeck |
MIT |
Jr. |
3.90 |
Mechanical Engineering |
| D |
Michelle Davidson |
Emory University |
Sr. |
3.87 |
Business Administration |
| M |
Kelly Hitchcock |
Illinois Tech |
Gr. |
3.81/3.81 |
Mechanical Engineering |
| M |
Hanna Heaton (1) (6) |
Christopher Newport University |
Sr. |
3.95 |
Cybersecurity |
| M |
Leena Mehendale |
MIT |
Sr. |
4.00/4.00 |
Biological Engineering |
| F |
Elsi Aires |
Tufts University |
Sr. |
3.85 |
Biology |
| F |
Olivia Clemons |
Washington University in St. Louis |
So. |
3.87 |
Mechanical Engineering |
| F |
Alyssa Tranchita |
University of Dubuque |
Sr. |
3.98 |
Elementary Education |
| THIRD TEAM |
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
| GK |
Sophia Garcia |
Emory University |
Sr. |
3.79 |
Business Administration |
| D |
Lena Sugrue |
Tufts University |
Sr. |
3.76 |
Civil Engineering |
| D |
Ella Macko (2) |
Johns Hopkins University |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Molecular & Cellular Biology |
| D |
Annie Isphording |
Johns Hopkins University |
Sr. |
3.96 |
Public Health & Natural Sciences |
| D |
Sarah Sollinger |
Denison University |
Sr. |
3.98 |
Journalism |
| M |
Ruth Hotaling |
William Smith College |
Sr. |
3.95 |
Mathematics & Music |
| M |
Sydney Myers |
Plattsburgh State |
Jr. |
3.99 |
Elementary Education |
| M |
Diana Pon |
Penn State Harrisburg |
Sr. |
3.57 |
Finance |
| F |
Hannah Hong |
Pomona-Pitzer |
Sr. |
3.89 |
Molecular Biology |
| F |
Hannah Adair |
Messiah University |
Sr. |
3.95 |
Education Certificate Grades PreK-4 |
| F |
Grace Ehlert |
Washington University in St. Louis |
Sr. |
3.75 |
Finance |
(1) – 1st team Academic All-America® in 2024
(2) – 2nd team Academic All-America® in 2024
(3) – 3rd team Academic All-America® in 2024
(4) – 1st team Academic All-America® in 2023
(6) – 3rd team Academic All-America® in 2023
