Fichtner Named Southland Softball Student-Athlete of the Year
FRISCO, Texas – UTSA sophomore Molly
Fichtner has been named the Southland Conference Softball Student-Athlete of
the Year, the league office announced Thursday in conjunction with the release
of the All-Academic Softball Teams.
Fichtner,
a native of Houston, Texas (Clear Brook), carries a 3.93 grade-point average in
kinesiology and is the second softball student-athlete of the year from UTSA,
joining three-time winner Jessica Rogers, who took the distinction in 2004,
2005 and 2007. The Roadrunner shortstop followed her freshman of the year
campaign by earning first-team all-conference honors as a sophomore and leading
UTSA with 61 hits. Fichtner batted .365 on the year with three home runs, 27
runs and 18 RBI. She ranked third in the conference in hits, fifth in batting
average, sixth in on-base percentage (.425) and total bases (78). In 167
at-bats on the season, Fichtner struck out only nine times, ranking her in the
top-50 in the nation as one of the toughest players to strike out. She is only
one of four Roadrunners to start every game this season and made the move from
catcher to shortstop after 11 games.
Eleven
student-athletes make a return appearance to the all-academic teams, including UT
Arlington senior Courtney Zink and Northwestern State senior Kelee Grimes, who
are both making their third consecutive showing.
Seven
members received automatic selections by virtue of being either a first-team
all-conference selection or voted to the CoSIDA academic all-district team.
Three
student-athletes were selected to the CoSIDA academic all-district team. Central
Arkansas senior Nicole Beals and junior Melissa Bryant and McNeese State
sophomore Alanna DiVittorio were named to the All-District VI team while
Stephen F. Austin sophomore Elizabeth Arana earned a spot on the All-District
VII team. Fichtner, Sam Houston State junior Tori Benavidez and Texas State
senior Chandler Hall earned their spot on the team after picking up first-team
all-conference honors. Beals and Bryant were also named to the first-team
all-conference team to go along with their CoSIDA academic all-district
selection.
Three
schools each placed four student-athletes on the all-academic teams, including
Central Arkansas, Sam Houston State and Texas State. McNeese State had three
members while Northwestern State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christ both had two.
Nicholls State, Southeastern Louisiana, Stephen F. Austin, UT Arlington and
UTSA each had one apiece.
Established
in the 2002-03 academic year, the conference honors one student-athlete from
each of the 17 championship sports who achieves excellence in academics,
athletics and community/campus service.
The
student-athlete of the year, selected by the league’s awards committee, will
have attained athletics achievement for at least two years at the nominating
institution, possess at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and demonstrated
extracurricular service at her campus and or community.
The
all-academic teams are voted on by the head coaches, sports information
directors and academic/compliance administrators from each Southland
university. Student-athletes must possess a 3.0 cumulative GPA, have completed
one full academic year at the nominating institution and participated in at
least 50 percent of the team’s competition to qualify for the all-academic
squad.
2012 Southland Conference Softball All-Academic Teams
|
First Team
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name
|
University
|
Class
|
Hometown
|
GPA
|
Major/Minor
|
|
Molly
Fichtner^, 1
|
UTSA
|
So.
|
Houston,
Texas
|
3.93
|
Kinesiology
|
|
Nicole Beals1
|
Central
Arkansas
|
Sr.
|
Phoenix,
Ariz.
|
3.68
|
History
|
|
Melissa
Bryant1, 2
|
Central
Arkansas
|
Jr.
|
Hernando,
Miss.
|
3.71
|
Nursing
|
|
Alanna
DiVittorio1
|
McNeese
State
|
So.
|
Harahan, La.
|
3.91
|
Civil Engineering
|
|
Tori
Benavidez1, 2
|
Sam Houston
State
|
Jr.
|
Midlothian,
Texas
|
3.46
|
Business Administration/Kinesiology
|
|
Elizabeth
Arana1
|
Stephen F.
Austin
|
So.
|
The
Woodlands, Texas
|
4.00
|
Kinesiology
|
|
Chandler
Hall1, 2
|
Texas State
|
Sr.
|
Baytown,
Texas
|
3.14
|
Fashion Merchandising/
Business Administration
|
|
Ashley Ray
|
Nicholls
State
|
Sr.
|
Lafayette,
La.
|
3.36
|
General Studies
|
|
Anne Marie
Taylor2
|
Texas State
|
Jr.
|
Houston,
Texas
|
3.26
|
Interdisciplinary Studies
|
|
Brooke Baker
|
Texas State
|
Jr.
|
Houston,
Texas
|
3.53
|
Interdisciplinary Studies
|
|
Hannah
Schwarz2
|
A&M-Corpus
Christi
|
Sr.
|
Kerrville,
Texas
|
3.99
|
Interdisciplinary Studies
|
|
Courtney
Zink3
|
UT Arlington
|
Sr.
|
Highlands,
Texas
|
4.00
|
Kinesiology
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Second Team
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name
|
University
|
Class
|
Hometown
|
GPA
|
Major/Minor
|
|
Anna
Hernandez2
|
Texas State
|
Jr.
|
Buda, Texas
|
3.36
|
Exercise & Sports Science
|
|
Tara
McKenney
|
Northwestern
State
|
So.
|
Red Oak,
Texas
|
3.36
|
Communications
|
|
Katie
McGregor2
|
Central
Arkansas
|
Sr.
|
Lake
Jackson, Texas
|
3.85
|
Management
|
|
Megan
McCollum
|
Southeastern
Louisiana
|
So.
|
Lafayette,
La.
|
3.55
|
Kinesiology
|
|
Kelee Grimes3
|
Northwestern
State
|
Sr.
|
Pineville,
La.
|
3.82
|
Business Administration
|
|
Katie Roux
|
McNeese
State
|
So.
|
Denham
Springs, La.
|
4.00
|
Health and Human Performance
|
|
Sarah
Allison
|
Sam Houston
State
|
So.
|
College
Station, Texas
|
3.56
|
Kinesiology/Management
|
|
Melanie
Bryant2
|
Central
Arkansas
|
Jr.
|
Hernando,
Miss.
|
3.52
|
Nursing
|
|
Greta
Cecchetti
|
A&M-Corpus
Christi
|
Jr.
|
Bollate,
Italy
|
3.18
|
Psychology
|
|
Marissa
Koetting
|
McNeese
State
|
Jr.
|
Ferris,
Texas
|
3.53
|
Biology
|
|
Allysa
Coggins
|
Sam Houston
State
|
So.
|
Sealy, Texas
|
3.72
|
Business Administration/Marketing
|
|
Tomi
Garrison2
|
Sam Houston
State
|
Sr.
|
Garland, Texas
|
3.40
|
Psychology/Health
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
^2012 Southland Softball
Student-Athlete of the Year
1Automatic
Selection
2Two-time
all-academic selection
3Three-time
all-academic selection