Four Owls Earn Scholar All America Honors

KANSAS City, Mo. – A total of four Rice Owls have been named United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America honorees, including Mijke Roelfsema as a First Team selection, the organization announced Friday (May 21).

Roelfsema, who maintained a 3.88 grade point average in Psychological Sciences, was one of just 13 Division I women's players that United Soccer Coaches named to the Scholar All-America First Team. The Rice trio of Bella Killgore, Haley Kostyshyn and Delaney Schultz were all named to the organization's Scholar All-America Third Team. No other school had as many as four honorees. Schultz posted a 3.75 GPA with a double-major of Cognitive Sciences and Computer Science, Kostyshyn had 3.70 in Kinesiology and Sport Management, and Killgore registered a 3.70 while majoring in Chemical Engineering.

Training under the direction of head coach Brian Lee the Owl honorees posted sensational individual seasons. Together the group helped Rice tie its single-season school record for wins (14), win the Conference USA Championship and reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Lee stated the student-athletes' goals of achieving success in the classroom and on the field go hand-in-hand.

"Scholar Athlete All-American is the ultimate award a student-athlete can achieve, and embodies what we want to be here at Rice," Coach Lee said. "These four all put in the daily work on the field, in the classroom, and in the community to earn this kind of accolade and are headed for great things in life."

Scholar All-America honoree Haley Kostyshyn provided a student-athlete perspective.

"Rice provides us with an environment to thrive not only in athletics but academically as well," Kostyshyn explained. "When you immerse yourself in the Rice environment, it is very easy to feed off all the competitive energy to not only be the best athlete you can be, but the best student-athlete.

"The number of players who win academic and athletic honors on our team speaks volume to how dedicated and driven each individual is, not only on the field, but in the classroom as well," she added. "Simply put, Rice makes balancing athletic and academic life easy."

-RiceOwls.com-