CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Four America East student-athletes were named to the 2010 Academic All-District Softball Team on Thursday. The prestigious awards are sponsored by ESPN The Magazine were and selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Stony Brook University's Alyssa Struzenberg was the lone first-team selection, while University at Albany's Nicole Kothe, University of Maine's Terren Hall and UMBC's Emily Thompson were second-team choices. Struzenberg, Kothe and Hall were all honorees in District I, while Thompson was named in District II.
Struzenberg, a senior pitcher, has a 3.85 grade-point average in business management/economics. The 2008 America East Pitcher of the Year and two-time all-conference choice, Struzenberg leads the league with 17 wins, 209 strikeouts and is third with a 1.93 ERA. A repeat selection, she will be automatically named to the national ballot.
Kothe, a senior outfielder, boasts a 3.68 GPA in psychology. A repeat selection, as well as an America East All-Academic choice a year ago, Kothe has started all 36 games for the Great Danes and contributed 19 hits, 10 run scored and 10 RBI.
Hall, a junior third baseman, carries a 3.36 GPA in kinesiology/physical education). Hall is batting .383 with 11 home runs and 49 RBI. She ranks third, tied for fourth and second in those categories, respectively.
Thompson, a junior outfielder, has a 3.65 GPA in interdisciplinary studies. She has had a career year at the plate batting .336 with eight homers and 20 RBI and is hitting .415 in league play.
To be nominated, the student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) for his/her career. No athlete is eligible until he/she has reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at his/her current institution (thus, true freshmen, red-shirt freshmen and ineligible transfers are not eligible). In the cases of transfers, graduate students and junior college graduates, the athlete must have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution to be eligible.
CoSIDA selects Academic All-America teams in 12 programs: football, women's volleyball, men's soccer, women's soccer, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, softball, men's track & field/cross country, women's track & field/cross country, men's at-large and women's at-large. A first team, second team and third team are selected in both the University (Division I and I-AA) and College (Division II, III and NAIA) Divisions. Football consists of just first and second teams.
The Softball Academic All-America team will be announced on Wednesday, May 26.