BABSON PARK, Mass.— Six Babson College student-athletes from three different women's programs were honored for their hard work in competition and the classroom when the College Sports Communicators (CSC) announced its women's Academic All-District At-Large teams on Tuesday afternoon.
Women's alpine skiing junior
Sonnie Travis (Park City, Utah) was recognized for the second year in a row, while women's lacrosse senior
Lilly Bedard (Jupiter, Fla.) and four field hockey players, senior
Laney Reed (West Chester, Pa.), junior
Emma Smith (Kenilworth, Ill.), and sophomores
Penny Baroni (Dennis, Mass.) and
Lauren Golden (New Albany, Ohio) were all named to the CSC Academic All-District team for the first time in their respective careers.
The CSC at-large program recognizes the top student-athletes from the sports of beach volleyball, bowling, crew, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, men's volleyball, water polo and wrestling.
A Finance major,
Travis earned All-America honors with an eighth-place finish in the giant slalom at the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) National Championships back in March. She posted her top showing of the season by coming in fourth in the GS at USCSA Eastern Regionals and registered nine top-10 results in 12 races on the year. She helped the Beavers place second in the GS and combined alpine and third in the slalom at the regionals and second in the GS and tied for third in the overall at the USCSA nationals.
The 2024 MacConnell Division Rookie of the Year, Travis has earned three straight All-MacConnell Division accolades in her three seasons as a collegiate skier, and earned her first USCSA All-America honors in the slalom in 2024.
An Economics and Leadership, People, & Organizations major and a three-time New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Academic All-Conference selection,
Bedard enjoyed a career year for the Beavers. She earned first-team All-Conference and second-team All-Region after leading the team with career highs of 36 goals and 37 assists for 73 points. Her 37 assists are the fourth highest single-season total in Babson history, and her 73 points are tied for 13th on the program's single-season list.
One of just two players to tally a point in all 18 games, Bedard produced at least one goal in 16 of 18 contests and dished out at least two assists on 13 occasions. Despite missing all but one game of her sophomore campaign due to injury, finished her career with 63 goals and 52 assists for 115 points in 47 contests.
A Marketing major and a three-time NEWMAC Academic All-Conference selection,
Reed started all 21 of her games for the Beavers last fall and finished fourth on the team in scoring with career highs of six goals and 12 points, including five game-winning goals. She tallied the game-winner in overtime in an early-season victory over fourth-ranked Williams; she notched the only goal of the game in Babson's NEWMAC tournament championship victory over No. 24 WPI on November 8; and she scored the only goal of the game in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinal triumph over No. 7 Wesleyan on November 16.
A four-year veteran, Reed finished with appearances in 69 games, scoring 14 goals and adding three assists for 31 points.
A Business major and a two-time NEWMAC Academic All-Conference selection,
Smith started a career-high 23 games on defense for the Green and White last fall. She helped a Babson unit allow just 22 goals and ranked 13th in Division III with a 0.89 team goals against average. She also contributed a pair of goals, one in a road win at Saint Joseph's of Maine as well as the game-winner in a 4-2 victory at Trinity.
A three-year veteran, Smith has seen action in 40 career games with 24 starts and helped the team to 22 career shutouts in her outings.
A Business major,
Baroni earned National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-America recognition after being named to the NFHCA All-Region and All-NEWMAC First Teams. She finished second on the team in scoring with 11 goals and seven assists for 29 points and ranked in the top 10 in the NEWMAC in goals (7th), assists (6th) and points (8th).
The 2024 NEWMAC Rookie of the Year, Baroni started all 23 of her games this season and 34 of her 46 career outings, producing 16 career goals and eight assists for 40 points.
A second-year majoring in Legal Studies, and a NEWMAC Academic All-Conference selection,
Golden was one of five players to start all 24 games for the Beavers last season. She registered a pair of defensive saves and helped a Babson unit register 11 shutouts on the season and allow one goal or fewer in 19 contests. She also scored goals in back-to-back wins over the University of New England and Wheaton late in the season.
A two-year veteran, Golden has started on defense in 25 of her 43 career appearances and helped the team to 23 career shutouts in her outings.
Since 1952, CSC (formerly CoSIDA) has honored more than 44,000 outstanding student-athletes across the NCAA. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a starter or key reserve and maintain a GPA of 3.50 on a 4.0 scale.
