Sumner Named Third Team Academic All-America
May 26, 2010 | Softball
May 26, 2010
2010 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Teams in PDF Format 
TOWSON, Md. – East Carolina senior second baseman Charina Sumner has been named to the CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America Third Team according to an announcement Wednesday by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). A health education and promotion major, Sumner graduated earlier this month with a final grade-point average of 3.93.
It is the first Academic All-America selection for Sumner and the first for the softball program since ECU Hall of Fame inductee Isonette Polonius earned the honor in 1998 and 1999.
Sumner picked up her initial CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District First Team selection and her second Conference USA All-Academic Team honor earlier this month. She is a four-time C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal recipient and C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll member. In the spring of 2009, she was East Carolina’s Conference USA Spirit of Service Award honoree. The Kailua, Hawai’i, native is also a two-time ECU Academic Excellence Award winner as well as a five-time Chancellor’s List and four-year Dean's List selection.
On the field this season, the All-Conference USA Second Team member helped the Pirates capture their first C-USA regular season and tournament titles. She led the team in hits (64), doubles (14) and triples (5), while standing second in batting average (.332), slugging percentage (.503), runs scored (37) and walks (22). She produced a team-best 15 multiple-hit games and added seven multi-RBI contests.
In C-USA contests, she paced the Pirates with a .284 batting average and 19 hits. At the Austin Regional in the NCAA Tournament, Sumner batted .455 with three doubles and two runs scored as East Carolina advanced to the finals for the first time in program history before falling to BYU. For the season, her 64 hits were the second most in C-USA and she ranked 10th in the league in runs scored.
In the all-time rankings, Sumner’s 17 triples are the fourth most in East Carolina and third most in C-USA history. In the Pirate career record book, she is fifth in hits (235) and sixth in runs scored (141).
UTEP pitcher Stacie Townsend was the only other Conference USA member to be named to a CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America squad this season as she was a First Team honoree. Townsend, who owns school records for career wins (64), strikeouts (802), innings pitched (722) and shutouts (11), earned a 4.00 GPA while pursuing a graduate degree in business administration.
