DEKALB, Ill. – Northern Illinois University placed a league-high and school-record eight players on the 2017-18 Academic All-MAC Team announced Thursday by the Mid-American Conference.

"Our student-athletes continue to exemplify excellence in the classroom," said NIU head coach Lisa Carlsen. "They raise the bar and expectations of each Huskie that comes to our team and this is a true point of pride for our program."

The Huskies tied with Bowling Green for the most honorees on the list led by three-time selections Kelly Smith and Georgia Breuning. Breuning boasts the highest cumulative GPA on the team with a 3.963 in accountancy. Smith, who reached the 1,000-career point plateau this season, earned a 3.703 in biology.

Mikayla Voigt and Courtney Woods, who also scored their 1,000th-career point this season, earned their second Academic All-MAC selections. Voigt carries a 3.914 GPA while pursuing her degree in nursing, while Woods is a pre-physical therapy major with a 3.407 GPA.

Ally May, Paulina Castro, Abby Woollacott and Nicole Orr have earned Academic All-MAC honors for the first time in their careers.

The Academic All-MAC honor goes to student-athletes who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or above and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for their sport. Students who are in their first year at the institution (either as freshmen or transfers) are not eligible.

NIU's complete list, with GPAs, majors and hometowns.

1. Georgia Breunig, Sr., 3.963, Accountancy (Sauk Prairie, Wis.)
2. Mikayla Voigt, Jr., 3.914, Nursing (Slinger, Wis.)
3. Ally May, Jr., 3.836, Nursing (Hartland, Wis.)
4. Abby Woollacott, So., 3.784, Undecided (Rockford, Ill.)
5. Paulina Castro, So., 3.731, Undecided (Elgin, Ill.)
6. Kelly Smith, Sr., 3.703, Biology (Hartland, Wis.)
7. Nicole Orr, Jr., 3.447, General Studies (Columbus, Ohio)
8. Courtney Woods, Jr., 3.407, Pre-Physical Therapy (Brisbane, Australia)

-NIU-