Gustavus Adolphus standout Lindsey Hjelm has garnerd Academic All-America Third Team honors. Photo courtesy of Sport PiX.
Gustavus Adolphus women’s hockey player Lindsey Hjelm (Jr., North Oaks, Minn.) has earned a spot on the Capital One Academic All-America Women’s At-Large Team. Hjelm, who takes home third team distinction, carries a cumulative grade point average of 3.85 and is a standout defender for the Golden Gusties.
The Capital One Academic All-America Women’s At-Large team, which is selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), includes athletes from the sports of bowling, crew, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis and water polo.
Going unfazed by the transition from forward to defender for the 2011-12 season, the offensive minded, and always-aggressive, Lindsey Hjelm finished the year with a rating of +28 and 26 points on 11 goals and 15 assists – the most points by a Gustie blueliner since Stefanie Ubl tallied 30 points (14G, 16A) in 2008. Among fellow defenders, her point total ranked ninth in NCAA Division III and first in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
To go along with being a member of the 2009-10 MIAC All-Rookie Team, Hjelm has earned All-Conference distinction in all three seasons of her tenure at Gustavus. This year, Hjelm was also named to the America Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) All-America First Team, joining teammates Allie Schwab and Molly Carroll.
“Lindsey, pure and simple, is a coaches dream,” said Head Coach Mike Carroll. “Not only is she a gifted player, but she is one the hardest working athletes both on the ice and in the weight room. She’s a great leader and that is evident in everything she does.”
“Lindsey is a caring and humble teammate who is totally devoted to both athletics and academics. She carries herself as well as anyone I have ever seen at the collegiate level and is truly deserving of such an honor,” Carroll added.
A staple of Mike Carroll's blue line, Hjelm led the conference in defenseman scoring this season.
Serving as an assistant captain for the Gusties this season, Hjelm earned the team’s Laura Vannelli Most Inspirational Player award for her leadership qualities both on and off the ice. The junior has played in all 90 games of her collegiate career, recording a total of 34 goals and 46 assists for 80 points.
Hjelm is the fourth Gustavus women’s hockey player to earn a spot on the Academic All-America First, Second, or Third Team. Other Gustie skaters receiving the honor include Sarah Moe (2002-1st Team), Margaret Dorer (2007-2nd Team, 2008-2nd Team), and Sara Yungner (2011-1st Team).
The Gustavus women’s hockey team finished its 2011-12 season with a record of 24-4-2 overall and 16-1-1 in the MIAC. The Gusties won the MIAC Regular Season title for the eighth-straight season and the MIAC Playoff title for the ninth-straight year. The Black and Gold qualified for NCAA Tournament play for the ninth-consecutive time and later earned a trip to the national semifinals for the third-straight season.
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
Lindsey is one of just two female athletes from the MIAC to take home Academic All-America distinction this season. The other being Vanessa Kleckner, a golfer from St. Olaf College.