WINONA, Minn. – In early November, Saint Mary's University senior
Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.) was recognized as one of the best in the Midwest District for his performance not only on the soccer field, but in the classroom, being named Academic All-District® by the College Sports Information Directors of American (CoSIDA).
Nearly one month later, Szymanski was recognized once again — this time as one of the best in the entire nation.
Wednesday afternoon, Szymanski — a four-time regular on the Cardinal men's soccer team, while also boasting a perfect 4.0 grade-point-average as a Biology major — was among the select few to earn the prestigious honor of being named Academic All-America®, CoSIDA announced Wednesday.
The 2021 Second-Team Academic All-America® Men's Soccer Team recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom.
The Academic All-America® honor is the third post-season award of the off-season for Szymanski, who was an honorable-mention All-MIAC pick, as well as a CoSIDA Academic All-District® selection.
Playing in his final season as a Cardinal, Szymanski closed out 2021 with a team-leading seven goals and 15 points, and was one of just three SMU players to start all 17 contests. Szymanski ended his illustrious four-year collegiate career with 21 career goals, ranking him tied for fourth all-time, while his 50 career points leave him sitting seventh all-time.
Szymanski was one of just four players from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to land Academic All-America® honors, being joined on the Second Team by Gustavus' Cole Schwartz, while Saint John's Aidan Becken and Macalester's Will Orser were Third-Team selections.
The 35-member men's team boasts an average GPA of 3.87, with the First Team posting a 3.89. Seven members: Szymanski, Becken, Charlie Widing (Hobart), Ethan Kalis (Carnegie Mellon), Logan Falzarano (Johns Hopkins), Aiden Westerberg (North Central), and Yusef Muqtadir (Wilmington) had perfect 4.0 GPAs.
