CSC Academic All-District® Release
Senior Sydney Fitzcharles, junior Trinity Harmon, senior Hayley Nash, and junior Tyara Thompson were among the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District® honorees, as announced by the organization on Tuesday afternoon.
Fitzcharles, a first-time All-North Coast Athletic Conference selection this fall, was a three-year starter at libero for the Fighting Scots. She helped the program make its first appearance in the NCAC Tournament championship match since 1985 as a junior, and the program had its first 10-match winning streak since 1984 in 2021. The senior ranked second in the NCAC in digs (4.49) and aces per set (0.49) this year and had eight matches with at least 20 digs as a senior. Fitzcharles' 1,336 career digs rate as the seventh-most in program history.
The neuroscience major is studying dopamine and GABA's effect on reward processing in the mesolimbic pathway for her Independent Study. Over the summer, she was an assistant to the environmental, health, and safety director at Kyocera SGS Precision Tools. On campus, Fitzcharles is part of the Wooster Community Hospital Health Coach Program, is a teaching assistant for human neuropsychology courses, and volunteers with the Wooster Volunteer Network. After graduating from Wooster, Fitzcharles is planning on gaining more laboratory experience before applying to medical school.
Harmon was one of Wooster's primary defensive specialists for the second consecutive season. The economics major logged a career-high 204 digs, which averaged out to 2.46 per set. Harmon totaled nine matches with at least 10 digs this fall, including a co-career-best 18 against Saint Mary's College (Indiana).
Nash, Wooster's first three-time first-team All-NCAC selection, ranked fourth in the NCAC with 2.99 kills per set this fall. The senior became the eighth player in program history to surpass 1,000 career kills, hitting the milestone in a sweep against Oberlin College. She finished her career with 1,020 kills, 432 of which came in 2021 when Wooster logged its first 20-win season since 2011. Nash's 0.43 aces per set ranked fifth in the NCAC in 2022, and she fired off a co-single-match best nine against St. Mary's in October.
The art history and studio art double major is comparing past and present Arizona homes to convey how styles have evolved for her Independent Study. After graduating in May, Nash plans to focus on either interior or industrial design and further her education back home in Arizona.
Thompson averaged 7.88 assists per set in year one as Wooster's starting setter. The junior averaged 2.67 digs and 0.30 blocks per set and ranked third on the team with 24 aces. Thompson tallied 12 double-doubles on the year and surpassed 40 assists in five matches. She distributed a career-high 45 assists during Wooster's four-set win over Westminster College (Pennsylvania) and hit that total again in wins over University of Pittsburgh at Bradford and Kenyon College.
The Posse Scholar earned the University of Rochester's Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Award for demonstrating commitment to addressing difficult social issues and was chosen for the Princeton Prize Award, which goes to students who have worked to address racial equity in their communities. This summer, the neuroscience major was a researcher at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. There, Thompson studied the impact of short-term exposure to high fat diet on effortful chow seeking in mice.
All four of Wooster's Academic All-District® honorees are on the Academic All-America® ballot, which is voted on by CSC members. The announcement of the Academic All-America® Team for volleyball is set for Wednesday, December 21. Starting with the 2022-23 academic year, all eligible nominees submitted by member schools earn Academic All-District® status. Nominees were voted to the Academic All-District® Team in previous years and those winners advanced to the Academic All-America® ballot. Wooster's volleyball team has five all-time Academic All-American® selections.