Wednesday, November 12, 2008

MACON, Ga. - Recently, three Atlantic Sun schools garnered awards in the off-season as members from the softball teams at Campbell, Stetson and USC Upstate were named National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America Scholar Athletes during the 2007-08 year, the NFCA office announced recently.

To be named a NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete, the selected individual student-athletes must achieve a 3.5 or better grade-point average (GPA).

As well as the USC Upstate softball team performed on the diamond in its first year playing on the NCAA Division I level in 2007-08, the Spartans did even better in the classroom. In a release by the NFCA, Upstate ranked second in the nation in the number of players who earned a 3.5 GPA or better for the 2007-08 academic year.

Upstate had a tremendous year in 2007-08, the inaugural season playing on the DI level as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Spartans won 34 games and claimed a share of the A-Sun regular season championship with a 16-6 league mark.

While the success on the field was tremendous, Upstate far exceeded those results in the classroom. The Spartans recorded a cumulative team GPA of 3.434 with 11 of 19 players earning a 3.5 GPA or better for the 2007-08 academic year. Tennessee Tech was the only DI school to have more softball student-athletes earn a 3.5 GPA last year.

Two Spartans, Tiffany Pitcher and Courtney Tate, earned perfect 4.0 GPAs for the year. In addition to Pitcher and Tate, Katie Adams, Kim Brasil, Vanesa Flores, Melissa Lockey, Ana Mitchell, Emily Monteith, Brittany Rice, Keri Sarratt and Jenna Torbert all earned GPAs of 3.5 or better for 2007-08.

In addition to the second-place finish in the number of players who earned a 3.5 GPA or better for the year, Upstate also had the fifth-best team GPA in Division I. The Spartans' 3.434 GPA trailed only Tennessee Tech (3.540), Gardner-Webb (3.478), Seton Hall (3.450) and Southern Illinois (3.447).

Campbell softball had nine players honored. Senior first baseman Karlie Love was named for the third time in her career. Last season, Love was also named to the ESPN The Magazine / Academic All-District III Softball University Division first team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and took home her third straight academic Atlantic Sun All-Conference honor. The government major recorded a perfect 4.0 grade point average (GPA) during the 2008 season.

Other multi-year Campbell winners include juniors Robin Leathers (2), Brittany Stanley (2) and Ashton Hardison (2). The group of first-year honorees were Cassie Webb, Amanda Miller, Lizzie Goldbach and former Camels Lindsay Dobner and Amanda Cline. Goldbach was the second member of Campbell's group to achieve a perfect 4.0 GPA last year.

Overall the Fighting Camels had a team GPA of 3.21 on the year, while setting a school record by placing 14 student-athletes on the A-Sun’s Academic All-Conference list.

Stetson University also placed six players on the list. Junior pitchers Katherine Lawrence and Nicole Peltz, catcher Jessica Lokeinsky and infielder Megan Voeller made the list as well as the only senior on the list, first baseman Andrea Migliori. Former Hatter Nicole Forbes also earned a spot on the list.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.