CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Consistently one of the most well-rounded programs in the classroom at Presbyterian College, the Blue Hose women's soccer team received another esteemed honor on Thursday afternoon as both Ella Williams and Isabel Manders-Lamcken were given the Big South's George A. Christenberry Award for Academic Excellence.

The Christenberry Award is presented to a graduating male and female student-athlete who attain the highest GPA during their undergraduate careers. Williams and Manders-Lamcken make up two of the 14 Christenberry winners in 2026, a new Big South record.

Thirteen Presbyterian student-athletes have been presented with this award since joining the conference in the late 2000's. With the addition of Williams and Manders-Lamcken, that makes five PC women's soccer players who have won the award (more than any other Blue Hose program).

Just last May, then-senior goalie Kelly Hall was bestowed with the Christenberry honor. Presbyterian has had seven total student-athletes receive this distinction over the past four years alone.

Big South member institutions nominate one male and one female student-athlete each spring for this award, or in this case, multiple players that tie for the highest GPA on their respective campus.

The namesake of the award, George A. Christenberry, was one of the founders of the Big South Conference and served as the league's first President from 1983-86.


 
A+ ACADEMICS

 
- Williams and Manders-Lamcken join the elite list after each completing their four-year degrees in Biology and Biochemistry, respectively. They helped the Big South qualify at least six Christenberry honorees for the 14^th consecutive time.

- This is the fourth occasion that two PC student-athletes received this honor in the same year. Furthermore, they become the sixth duo in the history of the award (spanning over four decades) to both be recognized in the same year while also being on the same team.

- Below is a list of each Blue Hose athlete to win the Christenberry distinction since the original honoree 15 years ago:
 

• Meghan Skinner (2011, women's soccer)
• Emily Boggus (2014, women's soccer)
• Thomas Valente (2016, men's soccer)
• Janie Miles (2018, women's basketball)
• Jonathan Turnley (2018, men's soccer)
• Katie Thompson (2020, women's tennis)
• Kendall Goldfarb (2023, women's lacrosse)
• Lili Jaraczewski (2023, women's cross country)
• William Johnson (2024, men's cross country)
• Lorenzo Nagy (2024, men's soccer)
• Kelly Hall (2025, women's soccer)
• Ella Williams (2026, women's soccer)
• Isabel Manders-Lamcken (2026, women's soccer)

 

WILLIAMS

 
- Ella was a true ironwoman over her four years at PC, never missing a single match in her entire college career out of 67 opportunities. Voted All-Big South second team as a junior, the Georgia native ranks sixth in program history with over 5,000 total minutes on the field.

- She was never subbed out at any point across her whole senior campaign, closing her career with 39 consecutive starts and 22 straight 90-minute shifts. As a primary defender, she even scored her first goal in 2024 during a 3-0 victory at The Citadel.

- Averaging 85 minutes per game, Williams was twice voted to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team.


 
MANDERS-LAMCKEN

 
- Izzy has been featured on the Big South Presidential Honor Roll in all four seasons at Presbyterian, helping PC obtain the sixth-highest team GPA of any D-I women's soccer program in the 2024-25 school year.

- A native of New Jersey, Manders-Lamcken contributed to the team's breakout season as a junior where the Blue Hose advanced to the conference tournament semifinals for the first time ever.

- She was a major reason why Presby was able to receive the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award last summer, an honor that few programs in the country are capable of achieving.