Note: The following is the schedule for announcements of the Capital One Academic All-America® of the Year award recipients:
Mon., July 28 College Division - Stephen Lunney (Jr., soccer), Martin Methodist College PDF doc
Tue., July 29 NCAA Division III - Christy Cazzola (Grad., track & field/cross country), Wisconsin-Oshkosh PDF doc
Wed., July 30 NCAA Division II - Lauren Battista (Sr., basketball), Bentley University PDF doc
Thur., Aug. 1 NCAA Division I
AUSTIN, Texas – Senior women’s basketball player
Lauren Battista of Bentley University has been named as the 2013-14 Capital One Division II
Academic All-America® of the Year, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
The Capital One Division II Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II national governance structure to
assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2013-14 Division II Academic All-America® teams program.
“I am so honored to be recognized as the top student-athlete in Division II athletics,” said Battista. “I have always taken so much pride in my ability to
excel in the classroom and I am so lucky I was able to go to an institutio
n like Bentley that has a top notch business curriculum and basketball program.
Now that basketball is over, it is my experience as a student that will help me be successful in the next chapter of my life and Bentley has definitely
prepared me for that.”
Battista, a forward for the Falcons, led Bentley to the 2014 NCAA Division II Championship title with unblemished 35-0 mark, becoming only the
second undefeated women’s basketball national champion in Division II history. She was named the Division II Player of the Year by the Women’s
Basketball Coaches Association in 2014, As a senior, the North Easton, Massachusetts, native averaged 17.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.1
assists and 1.1 steals a contest while shooting 57.5 percent from the floor and 81.9 percent from the free throw line.
Battista, who compiled a 3.96 G.P.A. while earning a bachelor's degree in marketing and liberal studies, was named the 2014 Honda Division II Athlete
of the Year by the Collegiate Women Sports Awards. The three-time Capital One Academic All-America® selection was also named a three-time
WBCA Division II All-America choice.
Battista finished her outstanding career as the Falcon’s all-time leading scorer with 2,112 points. She also set new University standards for games
played (135), games started (133), field goals (821) and field goals attempted (1,512). She led Bentley to a 124-11 record during her four campaigns
with four Northeast-10 championships and three trips to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
She is a three-time recipient of the NE-10 Sport Excellence Scholar-Athlete Award for women’s basketball and a four-time All-NE-10 honoree, including
first team accolades the past three seasons. She was named the NE-10 Player of the Year for the second time in three years and named the MVP of
the NE-10 Tournament four times, unprecedented in conference history in any sport. She was also named both the Woman of the Year and the Female
Student-Athlete of the Year in the NE-10 in 2014.
“What an honor for Lauren to be named the DII Academic All-America of the Year in all sports!” said Bentley head coach Barbara Stevens, who was
named the 2014 WBCA Division II National Coach of the Year. “This is a young woman who made it her mission to excel on the basketball court and in
the classroom and succeeded in doing both. To be named the Academic All-America of the Year from among the finest student-athletes in the country
is a crowning achievement in an illustrious career for Lauren. We're all extremely proud of her!”
The two-time team captain earned a gold medal while starting for the Team USA Maccabiah Games squad in Israel last July. She received Bentley’s
Outstanding Female Senior Athlete Award as well as the Powers Award, which is given to the University’s Outstanding Senior Scholar-Athlete, in 2014.
Battista was chosen as a Falcon Society Member, which is the highest award for a Bentley undergraduate.
Martin Methodist College’s Stephen Lunney was named the Capital One College Division Academic All-America® of the Year Monday (July 28) while
Christy Cazzola was selected as the Division III honoree Tuesday (July 29). The Capital One Division I Academic All-America® of the Year award
winner will be announced Thursday (July 31).
2013-14 CAPITAL ONE SPORT-BY-SPORT DIVISION II ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA® OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS
Name Sport Cl. Hometown Major, G.P.A.
Trent Adams, Northwest Missouri St. Football Sr. Odessa, Texas Biology/Psychology, 3.94
Elvind Austboe, LIU Post M. Soccer Jr. Stavanger, Norway Business Management, 3.94
Lauren Battista, Bentley W. Basketball Sr. North Easton, Mass. Marketing, Liberal Studies, 3.96
Kristin Day, Clarion W. At-Large Sr. Reynoldsville, Pa. Chemistry, 4.00
Karenee Demery, CSU Stanislaus W. Soccer Sr. Merced, Calif. Biological Sciences, 3.70
Bryce Foster, Missouri S & T M. Basketball Sr. Florissant, Mo. Business & Management Systems, 3.89
Ruben Gimenez, Bridgeport M. At-Large Jr. Burgos, Spain Computer Science, 3.98
Hannah Heeter, Clarion Volleyball Sr. Seneca, Pa. Biology/Pre-Med, 3.95
*-Kristen Hixson, Grand Valley State W. Track/XC Sr. Remus, Mich. Finance, 3.97
Austin Kaiser, Colorado Mesa Baseball Sr. Colorado Springs, Colo. Sports Management, 3.81
William Shell, Southwest Baptist M. Track/XC Sr. Cape Girardeau, Mo. Athletic Training, 4.00
Bailey Vrazel, Texas Woman’s Softball Sr. Danbury, Texas Kinesiology, 4.00
*-repeat selection
About Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation (
www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A., and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A.,
had $206.9 billion in deposits and $289.9 billion in total assets as of September 30, 2013.
Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers 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 more than 900 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.
For More Information:
Michael MacEachern, Young Harris College
Academic All-America® Vice Co-Chair for Publicity/Communications
mfmaceachern@yhc.edu
(706) 379-5106