• 2012 Capital One Academic All-America Division III Softball Team (PDF)
• 2012 Capital One Academic All-America Division III Softball Team (.doc)
Upcoming Capital One Academic All-America Softball Team release dates:
College Division Teams: Monday, May 21
Division III Teams: below
Division II Teams: Wednesday, May 24
Division I Teams: Thursday, May 25
TOWSON, Md. – Senior catcher Kelsey Kittleson of Luther College headlines the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America® Division III Softball Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
A biology major with a perfect 4.0 grade point average (G.P.A.), Kittleson has been chosen as the NCAA Division III Academic All-America® of the Year award winner for softball. Last year, she was selected as the Capital One College Division Academic All-America® of the Year.
The Capital One Division III Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structure to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2011-12 Division III Academic All-America® teams program.
One of four repeat selections on this year’s Capital One Academic All-America® Division III Softball first team, Kittleson recently became the first student-athlete in NCAA history t
o be named the Elite 88/89 Award winner three times in the same sport. This honor goes to the student-athlete which the highest GPA who is participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA championships.
A second team National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American, Kittleson led the Norse to three consecutive NCAA Division III Softball championship appearances. Luther finished fifth finish this season. A native of St. Ansgar, Iowa, Kittleson also earned first-team All-Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and first-team All-Midwest Region honors while batting .372 with 11 home runs and 50 RBI’s.
Seniors Sarah Budz of Dominican (Ill.), Marianne Specker of Brandeis and Casey Clarridge of Otterbein join Kittleson as repeat Academic All-America® selections.
The 11 members of the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America® Division III Softball Team carry an average G.P.A. of 3.89. Pacific Lutheran, the 2012 NCAA Division III national champions, and Wisconsin River Falls each had two representatives on the first team.
A nutrition & dietetics major with a 3.79 G.P.A., Budz was a second-team Academic All-American® last season. A native of Orland Park, Illinois, Budz was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Great Lakes Region Team. The infielder batted .368 with four home runs, 27 RBI’s, 14 doubles, 20 walks and 15 stolen bases. A three-time first-team All-Northern Athletics Conference pick, Budz led the NAC in walks.
A psychology major with a 3.92 G.P.A., Specker is a first-team Academic All-America® pick as an infielder for the second straight season. A native of South Windsor, Conn., Specker earned first team All-University Athletic Association honors, batting .401 with two home runs, 11 doubles and a UAA best-leading 41 RBI’s. Specker ranks in the top five in Brandeis history in base hits and RBI’s. She led the Judges to a runner-up finish at the ECAC Division III New England Championship.
A history and secondary education double major with a 3.86 G.P.A., Clarridge was a second team Academic All-America® selection last spring. A native of Marysville, Ohio, Clarridge earned second-team NFCA All-Great Lakes Region status after batting .410 with six homers, 10 doubles, 32 RBI’s and 42 runs scored. A two-time all-region honoree, Clarridge also finished her career as a three-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference selection as an outfielder.
Completing the infield for the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America® Division III softball team are senior pitcher Stacey Hagensen of NCAA champion Pacific Lutheran, senior pitcher Rose Tusa and junior infielder Ashley Goettl of Wisconsin-River Falls, and junior infielder Caitlin Cromley of Misericordia.
A mathematics and economics double-major with a 3.91 G.P.A., Hagensen was the winner of the Most Outstanding Player award at the NCAA Division III championships. She pitched a three-hit shutout against Linfield in the championship game, leading the Lutes to their first national title. She also earned Northwest Conference Pitcher of the Year and NFCA All-West Region first team honors for the second straight season. A native of Bellevue, Wash., Hagensen led the Lutes to a 45-11 record by compiling a 28-5 record, a 0.97 earned run average and 137 strikeouts. She also pitched 12 shutouts. A three-time All-Northwest Conference selection and the NCAA Tyler Regional Most Valuable Player, Hagensen has been a dual threat this season, batting .363 with five homers, 37 RBI’s and 10 stolen bases.
A geography major with a 3.88 G.P.A., Tusa was named as the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year. She was also named to the NFCA All-Great Lakes Region first team for the second consecutive year. A native of Roseville, Minn., Tusa set a school record with 27 wins as a senior with a 1.42 E.R.A. She also set school records with 245 strikeouts and 242 innings pitched. A three-time first-team All-WIAC honoree, Tusa was named to the NCAA Regional all-tournament Team in both 2011 and 2012. Tusa was selected as the Wisconsin-River Falls Female Athlete of the Year and the Geology Department’s Outstanding Student.
A journalism, political science and communication studies triple major with a 3.83 G.P.A., Goettl was a first team All-WIAC honoree after batting .387 this season. A native of North Mankato, Minn., she earned second-team NFCA All-Great Lakes Region notice. She led the Falcons with 12 home runs and 48 RBI’s. Goettl established Falcon single season records with her 12 homeruns and 49 games played this year and was named to the NCAA Regional all-tournament team for the second year in a row. She is also one of just a handful of students from around the nation to earn a prestigious Broadcast Education Association Scholarship.
Cromley, a biology and physical therapy double major with a 3.97 G.P.A., was Misericordia’s Most Valuable Player this season. She was also named second team All-Freedom Conference. A native of Jersey Shore, Pa., Cromley led the Cougars with a .417 batting average and eight home runs in addition to 30 RBI’s. Cromley was the MVP of the Freedom Conference Championship Tournament as she pitched a five-hitter in the championship game, leading the Cougars to their first championship. She was also named to the NCAA Regional all-tournament team.
Senior Jaydee Baxter of Linfield and junior Meghin Palmer of Marywood round out the outfield, while junior Kaaren Hatlen of national champion Pacific Lutheran is the designated player.
An exercise science major with a 3.83 G.P.A., Baxter led defending national champion Linfield to a 46-7 record and the NCAA Division III finals. A native of Damascus, Ore., Baxter is batting .338 with four homers, 23 RBI’s and 11 stolen bases for the Wildcats, who won the Northwest Conference championship. Baxter has earned All-NWC honors four times and is a two-time All- Region selection.
Palmeri is a CSD speech language pathology major with a 3.90 G.P.A. and was selected to the All-Colonial States Athletic Conference first team for the third straight year. She batted .464 with 31 runs scored, 21 stolen bases and 19 RBI’s. A native of Greencastle, Pa., Palmer has a career batting average of .472 with 64 stolen bases and 98 runs scored.
A mathematics major with a 3.95 G.P.A., Hatlen joins Hagensen as Pacific Lutheran representatives on the first team. She has earned first-team All-NWC and NFCA All-West Region honors in each of the past two seasons. A native of Woodinville, Wash., Hatlen led the Lutes with a .426 batting average, 10 homers and 56 RBI’s. An NCAA Regional all-tournament team pick, Hatlen also pitched 82 innings and compiled a 13-4 record and a 2.90 E.R.A. A first team All-American, she drove in the game-winning run in a 3-0 win over Linfield in the national championship game.
About Capital One
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www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A., Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., and ING Bank, fsb,
had $216.5 billion in deposits and $294.5 billion in total assets outstanding as of March 31, 2012. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One and ING Direct offer a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels. Capital One, N.A. has approximately 1,000 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.
Capital One, an NCAA Corporate Champion, began its affiliation with college sports with the sponsorship of the 2001 Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl (now the Capital One Bowl) and ESPN’s Capital One Bowl Week. In addition, Capital One sponsors the ABC College Football Halftime Report, Capital One All-America Mascot team, Capital One Academic All-America Program, and supports all 89 NCAA Championships including the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, and numerous other collegiate athletics programs.
About the Capital One Academic All-America® Program
To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports. For more information about the Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit www.cosida.com.
For more information, contact:
Dan O’Connell
Towson University
Academic All-America® Vice-Chair for Publicity/Communications
doconnell@towson.edu
(410) 704-3102
Nick Minerd
Case Western Reserve University
Academic All-America® Coordinator of Publicity
nxm229@case.edu
(216) 368-6517