Thursday, September 29, 2011

STARKVILLE, Miss. – The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) released its academic team honors on Wednesday and two Atlantic Sun Conference teams appeared as Top-10 All-Academic Teams. ETSU posted a 3.495 team grade point average to rank ninth, while Stetson's 3.477 GPA tied for tenth-best in the nation.

In the 2010-11 school year, the Stetson softball program produced 14 Atlantic Sun Conference All-Academic Team selections, one A-Sun President's Scholar (Jill Semento '11) and three Conference Scholars (senior Carolyn Boyd, junior Tara Formisano and senior Grace Turner). Semento was also named to the Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-District III First Team in May 2011.

The Bucs, who placed 73-percent of their team on the Atlantic Sun All-Academic List (3.0 GPA or better), also saw eight players receive Conference Scholar accolades; while Katie Henderson (Jackson, Tenn.) graduated with the Commissioner’s Scholar honor this past May. To be eligible for the Conference Scholar award, student-athletes must have recorded a cumulative GPA of 3.4 or better and have completed 48 total credit hours. The Commissioner’s Scholar accolade is awarded to student-athletes who finished their eligibility and registered a cumulative GPA of 3.6 to 3.79.

The Atlantic Sun Conference was one of two leagues (Mid-American Conference) to place two teams in the top ten. In total, four A-Sun teams appeared in the top-51 of the rankings as Belmont landed at No. 22 with a 3.358 GPA and Lipscomb earned No. 51 with a 3.27 GPA.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an NCAA Division I league with 10 member institutions committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun meets the challenge of maintaining the highest standards in academic and athletic achievement with a true balance between student and athlete. 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, 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.