College Sports Communicators (CSC) Release
DUDLEY, Mass. (6/23/2025) - College Sports Communicators (CSC) unveiled its 2025 Academic All-District Women's At-Large Team, recognizing a list of six Nichols student athletes across three sports for their exceptional achievements both on the field and in the classroom.
The recognized Bison include seniors
Katherine Segalla,
McKenzie Muir and
Hadley Houghton, as well as juniors
Merle Steinau,
Taylor Breen and
Makala Dube. Women's Lacrosse led the way with three honorees this year, while women's ice hockey followed with two and field hockey with one. Breen, Muir, Houghton and Dube are each second time recipients of CSC Academic All-District honors, while Steinau and Segalla join the fray as first-time honorees.
Nominated by CSC members, the Academic All-District teams recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performance both on the field and in the classroom. Selected students must be at least of sophomore status academically and athletically, maintain a 3.50 cumulative GPA, and be considered a significant contributor to their respective sport, with base criteria ranging from sport-to-sport.
From the All-District teams, Steinau, Muir and Houghton advance to the Academic All-America ballot, with the winners being announced on July 16-17.
Segalla, a defender from New York City, New York, was the women's ice hockey program's leader in blocked shots (79) as a defender, appearing in all 25 games while adding in three assists. As a Psychology major, Segalla has also been selected twice to the Commonwealth Coast Conference (now Conference of New England) Academic All-Conference team, and graduated this spring with a 3.96 GPA.
Muir, a dual sport athlete from Bedford, New Hampshire, is returning to the CSC stage for her efforts on the women's lacrosse program, where she ranked as the team's top defensive player with 44 caused turnovers, additionally ranking second in ground balls (53) and draw controls (77). As one of two senior captains, Muir is also a previous recipient of IWLCA Division III Academic Honor Roll accolades, as well as a two-time CCC/CNE All-Conference First Team selection and CCC Academic All-Conference honoree in 2024.
Houghton, the second senior captain of the women's lacrosse team, was the team leader in nearly every statistical category in 2025, including goals (61), assists (24), draw controls (105) and ground balls (63). The marketing major from Madison, Connecticut has also been a two-time CCC/CNE All-Conference First Team honoree, previously garnered Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Academic All-Conference honors (2024), and graduated this spring with a 3.58 GPA.
Dube, a junior from Brooklyn, Connecticut, rounds out the women's lacrosse trio as a now two-time CSC Academic All-District honoree, and former CCC Academic All-Conference honoree. In 2025, she started in all 17 of her appearances, and totaled 27 points behind 12 goals and 15 assists. From the classroom, she majors in Digital and Social Media Marketing and owns a 3.77 GPA.
Steinau, a junior from Essen, Germany, was one of three captains on the field hockey program in 2024, and ranked tied for third on the team in points (11) with four goals and three assists. As a starter in all 19 games, she received Conference of New England (CNE) All-Conference Second Team honors this past fall, has been a three-time CCC/CNE Academic All-Conference honoree (2022, 2023, 2024), and has received NFHCA honors as both an All-Academic and Scholar of Distinction (2023). From the classroom, Steinau majors in General Business, and owns a 3.95 undergraduate GPA alongside a perfect 4.0 Graduate GPA.
Completing the list of Bison recipients is dual-sport junior
Taylor Breen, who hails from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. As a member of the women's ice hockey team, she finished the 2024-25 campaign with two goals and three assists for five points, which included her first collegiate goal against UNE on January 18
th. With a 3.74 GPA as a Sports Marketing and Content Creation major, she has also previously garnered CCC Academic All-Conference honors in 2024.
