Softball Honored For Academic Success
October 07, 2009 | Softball
Oct. 7, 2009
Complete Listing Of NFCA All-Academic Teams
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The 2009 East Carolina softball team excelled on the field winning 40 games, including a program-best 19 in Conference USA action, and also in the classroom. The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) recently honored the Pirates for their academic excellence, naming the squad an NFCA All-Academic Team.
During the 2008-09 school year, ECU compiled a 3.286 cumulative grade-point average, good for 40th-place on a list of 108 NCAA Division I squads that earned the NFCA honor. Teams must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher to be considered, with all of this year's recipients having at least a 2.75 GPA.
The Pirates' GPA was the best among C-USA institutions and improved 0.057 points over their mark during the 2007-08 school year. The team also moved up four spots in the NFCA rankings from last year. Other league schools joining East Carolina on the NFCA list were Marshall (53rd), UAB (63rd), UTEP (93rd) and Memphis (97th).
"This team GPA is a testament to the hard work and countless hours our kids commit away from the softball field," associate head coach Natalie Kozlowski said. "They take the 'student' part of student-athlete seriously, regardless of whether we are in season or not."
Along with the NFCA honor, the Pirates earned their second consecutive Conference USA Sport Academic Award, given to the team in each conference-sponsored sport with the highest grade-point average for the academic year.
"Each year our players keep pushing the bar higher and higher," Kozlowski added. "Coach Kee and I are very proud of each and every one of them and hope they continue to carry the academic torch for C-USA and ECU."
Individually, ECU had three players complete the 2008-09 year with perfect 4.0 GPAs - Jessica Johnson, Charina Sumner and Kaui Tom. Additionally, five other players finished with GPAs of 3.7 or higher.
