Four Zips Honored With Academic All-MAC Accolades

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CLEVELAND, Ohio– Four members of The University of Akron women's basketball team earned Academic All-MAC honors, the league office announced on Monday.

Earning the accolade for the Zips is redshirt senior Megan Sefcik (Austintown, Ohio) and juniors Alyssa Clay (Indianapolis, Ind.), Shayna Harmon (Ashville, Ohio) and Caitlin Vari (Richfield, Ohio).

Sefcik received the honor for the fourth time in her career, while Clay, Harmon, and Vari made the list for the second consecutive season, respectively.

"Our program is very proud of these four student-athletes," said head coach Melissa Jackson. "This is a great accomplishment and each one of them is a positive representative of what we strive to do in the classroom and on the court."

The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport.

A total of 51 women's basketball student-athletes from around the league met the requirements and were named to the 2019 squad.

Sefcik, in her final season in an Akron uniform, picked up another accolade to go with her distinguished career. In 2018-19, Sefick turned in her best season for the Zips with career numbers in points (533, 17.2/game), rebounds (104), assists (54), steals (54), blocks (21), made field goals (181), and made three-pointers (99). Throughout the year, Sefcik became the 15^thAkron player in program history to score 1,000 career points, became just the third Zips to eclipse the 200 made three-pointer mark, and earned postseason honors for the first time in her career and was named to the 2018-19 All-MAC Second Team.

Clay, a key contributor off the bench for Akron, the Zips sharpshooter averaged 4.5 points per game, shot at a 37.3-percent clip from long range, and .328 from the floor. Heading into the Clay went a perfect 10-for-10 from beyond the arc over the course of four games and was four three-pointers shy of tying the NCAA record for most consecutive three-pointers made, 14, that was set in 1996 by Deana Lansing of Portland University.

Harmon expanded her game over the course of the 2018-19 season that we did not see in her first two seasons in an Akon uniform. The junior guard saw time as the Zips point guard, shooting guard, and small forward over the course of the season. With her versatility on the court, Harmon recorded career-highs in points (215 total, 6.9 points/game), assists (team-high 118), rebounds (104 total, 3.4/game), and steals (32). Harmon is shot 39.1-percent from the floor, 48.6-percent from long range, and 78.2-percent from the charity stripe.

Vari, a member of the Zips frontcourt, played a vital role in the interior for Akron on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. Vari is tasked game in and game out with defending the opponent's top frontcourt player and owned a team-high 32 blocks. On the offensive side of the court, Vari tallied a career-high 270 points (8.7 points/game) while reeling in a team second-best 6.7 rebounds per contest, including a team-high 89 offensive rebounds and 119 defensive rebounds. Vari recorded at least two offensive caroms in 23 games and led the Zips in offensive rebounds in 14 games.

The University of Akron Athletics

Four Zips Honored With Academic All-MAC Accolades

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Alyssa Clay

Shayna Harmon

Megan Sefcik

Caitlin Vari

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