NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team made a little history on Thursday afternoon when D3hoops.com announced its annual Preseason All-America team and included Sondra Fan and Anaya Simmons among the honored players. Fan becomes the first player in program history to earn Preseason All-American honors more than once in her career and Simmons gives CNU multiple selections in a single season for the first time. 

Fan was one of five players to be selected a First Team Preseason All-American by the national media outlet while Simmons hauled in a Fourth Team pick. CNU was one of only two teams in the country with multiple preseason All-Americans as NYU also picked up a pair. 

The D3hoops.com Preseason All-Americans have been selected each year since the 2010-11 season, barring the 2020-21 campaign due to the COVID-19 cancellation. CNU has had five all-time selections including Chelsie Schweers (1st team - 2010-11), Tia Perry (3rd team - 2013-14), Sam Porter (4th team - 2017-18), and Fan (3rd team - 2021-22). 

Returning for her fifth year in 2022-23, Fan has established a litany of individual accomplishments over her three-season career thus far. Last season, she was named a first team WBCA All-American and earned second team D3hoops.com All-American accolades. She was named the Region VI Player of the Year by D3hoops.com and was also selected as the State Player and Defensive Player of the Year. 

Offensively, Fan ranked in the top-60 nationally in overall field goal percentage while boasting a top-five mark in the country from beyond the arc. One of the most dangerous three-point shooters in the nation, Fan knocked down 43.5 percent from long range. Overall, she hit exactly 50 percent of her attempts, ranking 10th among Division III guards while pouring in a team-high 14.7 points per game. The Poquoson, Va. native was also a team leader on defense, securing a team-high 61 steals. She helped CNU rank second nationally in turnover margin and will start the year just outside the top-ten all-time at CNU in career thefts with 183. 

Joining Fan on the Preseason All-America list is senior forward Anaya Simmons taking the court for her third official season in 2022-23. The most efficient player in Division III last season, Simmons led the country in field goal percentage by knocking down 64.1 percent of her shots to help bolster the Captains' offense. She collected first team All-State and All-Conference recognition while being named a second team All-Region honoree. 

The C2C Tournament MVP returns after a standout junior season that saw Simmons average 13.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, ranking second in both categories. She also ranked second on the team in steals and blocked shots with 53 and 20, respectively. In just two seasons, Simmons has piled up 687 career points while shooting 60.9 percent from the field with over 440 career attempts. 

Also honored by D3hoops.com as a Preseason All-America selection in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference was senior forward Kaylee Murphy from UC Santa Cruz. CNU will also see another selection in Damaris Rodriguez from New Jersey City University when the Captains take on the Gothic Knights in late January. 

The complete list of 2022-23 D3hoops.com Preseason All-Americans can be found here.