Softball's Stacey Nelson Earns Academic All-America Honors
Wednesday, May 28, 2008 | Softball
University of Florida junior pitcher Stacey Nelson (Los Alamitos, Calif.) is part of the 2008 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America first team, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced Wednesday. She is the fourth Gator softball player named an Academic All-American and the first to earn first team honors. Nelson is majoring in philosophy with a 3.61 grade point average.
Nelson, the 2008 Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year, owns a 45-3 record on the season with five saves. Her 45 wins set the school record and her five saves equals her own school record. She has a 0.73 ERA and has struck out a school record 337 batters in 316.2 innings. Only 27 of the 176 hits she has given up this season have been for extra bases, and only one a home run. She is holding opponents to a .161 batting average.
| Florida Softball Academic All-Americans | ||
| Name | Team | Year |
| Stacey Nelson | 1st | 2008 |
| Jenny Gladding | 2nd | 2004 |
| Beth Dieter | 3rd | 2000 |
| Kristin Sandler | 2nd | 1998 |
Nelson joins two other Gators who earned ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America honors in 2007-08 – Tim Tebow, football (first team) and Amber McCray, volleyball (second team).
To be nominated for Academic All-America honors, the student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) for her career. No athlete is eligible until she has reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at his/her current institution.
Nelson and the rest of the top-seeded Florida team (67-3) are in Oklahoma City, Okla., preparing to make their Womens' College World Series premiere on Thursday, May 29. The Gators meet Louisiana Lafayette (51-13) in Game 1 of the WCWS at the Amateur Softball Association's (ASA) Hall of Fame Stadium. Thursday's game will be televised live on ESPN at 1 p.m. (ET).
| 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Softball Team | |||||||
| University Division | |||||||
| First Team | |||||||
| Pos. | Name | School | Dist. | Yr. | Hometown | GPA | Major |
| P | Angela Tincher | Virginia Tech | III | Sr. | Eagle Rock, Va. | 3.84 | Finance |
| P | Stacey Nelson | Florida | III | Jr. | Los Alamitos, Calif. | 3.61 | Philosophy |
| C | Chelsea Bramlett | Mississippi State | VI | So. | Cordova, Tenn. | 3.82 | Physical Education |
| IF | Jessica Chrabaszcz | Delaware State | II | Sr. | Johnston, R.I. | 4.00 | Chemistry |
| IF | Jessica Toocheck | Kent State | IV | Sr. | Medina, Ohio | 3.90 | Special Education |
| IF | Colleen McGlaughlin | Iowa | VII | Jr. | Morton, Ill. | 4.00 | Actuarial Science |
| IF | Sara Dyer | Tulsa | VI | Sr. | Sand Springs, Okla. | 3.94 | Communications |
| OF | Lisa Kingsmore | Winthrop | III | Jr. | Brampton, Ontario | 3.99 | Chemistry |
| OF | Lillian Hammond | Tennessee | IV | Jr. | Chattanooga, Tenn. | 4.00 | Criminal Justice |
| OF | Amber Maisonet | Albany | I | Sr. | Newburgh, N.Y. | 3.85 | Psychology |
| DP | Mary Beth Puccio | Fordham | I | Jr. | Brightwaters, N.Y. | 3.58 | Accounting |
| Academic All-America of the Year: Angela Tincher, Virginia Tech | |||||||
| SECOND TEAM | |||||||
| Pos. | Name | School | Dist. | Yr. | Hometown | GPA | Major |
| P | Megan Rhodes | Tennessee | IV | Sr. | Nashville, Tenn. | 3.86 | Psychology |
| P | Tara Oltman | Creighton | VII | So. | Cortland, Neb. | 4.00 | English & Secondary Ed. |
| C | Laura Matthews | Dayton | IV | Sr. | Nashville, Tenn. | 3.80 | Sports Management |
| IF | Stephanie Fischer | Tennessee Tech | IV | Sr. | Stevens Point, Wis. | 3.50 | Business |
| IF | Brianna Bricker | St. Bonaventure | I | Sr. | Albion, Pa. | 3.92 | Management Sciences |
| IF | Beth Boden | Tennessee Tech | IV | Sr. | Plover, Wis. | 3.75 | Civil Engineering |
| IF | Valerie Chapple | Kansas | VII | Jr. | Overland Park, Kan. | 4.00 | Secondary Ed. & Physics |
| OF | Jackie Vasquez | Arizona State | VIII | Sr. | Tucson, Ariz. | 3.65 | Special Education |
| OF | Kaitlin Cochran | Arizona State | VIII | Jr. | Yorba Linda, Calif. | 3.47 | Pre-Secondary Education & Math |
| OF | Ashton Payne | South Carolina | III | Jr. | Richmond, Va. | 3.98 | Biology |
| DP | Aimee Enzler | North Dakota State | VII | Sr. | Wayzata, Minn. | 3.81 | Physical Ed. & Adapt. PE |
| THIRD TEAM | |||||||
| Pos. | Name | School | Dist. | Yr. | Hometown | GPA | Major |
| P | Michelle Moses | Brown | I | Jr. | Cooper City, Fla. | 4.00 | Commerce & Entrepren. |
| P | Molly Hill | Nebraska | VII | Jr. | Wayne, Neb. | 4.00 | Speech-Lang. Pathology |
| P | Lisa Sweeney | Lehigh | II | Jr. | Lumberton, N.J. | 3.79 | History |
| P | Hayley Wiemer | Bowling Green State | IV | Jr. | Sylvania, Ohio | 4.00 | Secondary Education |
| C | Jessica DePippo | Long Island | I | Gr. | Westlake Village, Calif. | 3.77 | Childhood Education |
| IF | Allison Vallas | Bowling Green State | IV | Sr. | Perrysburg, Ohio | 3.95 | Exercise Science |
| IF | Katie Miranto | Canisius | I | Sr. | North Tonawanda, N.Y. | 3.65 | Finance |
| IF | Charlotte Morgan | Alabama | IV | So. | Moreno Valley, Calif. | 3.75 | Exercise Sports Science |
| IF | Whitney Haller | Georgia Tech | III | Jr. | Marietta, Ga. | 3.91 | Industrial Engineering |
| OF | Krystal Stein | Southern Illinois | V | Sr. | Nashville, Ill. | 4.00 | Speech Communication |
| OF | Brooke Lockhart | Southeastern Louisiana | VI | Sr. | Christchurch, New Zealand | 4.00 | Mathematics |
| OF | Alessandra Giampaolo | Michigan | IV | Sr. | Pasadena, Calif. | 3.50 | Psychology |
| DP | Kat Krause | Loyola (Ill.) | V | Sr. | Arlington Heights, Ill. | 3.82 | Psychology |
