Patriot Softball Team earns Academic Honors

FLORENCE – The Francis Marion University women’s softball team is one of 57 NCAA Division II squads to earn National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Academic Team recognition for the 2008 season, while seven Patriot players were named NFCA All-America Scholar-Athletes.

The Patriots compiled a 3.36 cumulative grade-point average and were ranked 14th among Division II programs, and 66th among all four-year schools – NCAA (all divisions) and NAIA. The team’s GPA led all Division II Palmetto State schools and all Peach Belt Conference programs.

The All-Academic Team listings are based on cumulative team grade-point averages submitted by NFCA member head coaches for the 2007-08 academic year.

FMU previously earned this team honor in 1999, 2000, 2006, and 2007.

“As a college head coach, you strive for the true balance – success on the playing field and in the classroom,” said FMU head coach Stacey Vallee. “These young ladies have achieved this feat and are the true example of a ‘student-athlete.’ As in winning games, this academic award is truly a team effort.”

The seven players who earned individual recognition were outfielders Stevie Arrand, Lakyn Bendle, Jessica Birchmeier, and Megan Pangburn; catcher Jamie Holmes, infielder Shawn Moore, and first baseman Monica Wofford.

To be eligible for the team, players must have compiled a 3.5 grade point average (or higher) for the past (2007-08) academic year. Bendle and Wofford are three-time honorees, while Pangburg, Holmes, and Moore were also named to the squad in 2007.

Arrand, a native of London, Ontario, Canada, is majoring in early childhood education, while Bendle, who hails from Amsterdam, Ohio, is majoring in psychology, and Birchmeier, a Port Richey, Fla., product, is an accounting major.

Pangburn, from Covina, Calif., is majoring in finance, while Holmes, a native of Monroe, Wash., is an elementary education major, and Moore, a product of Pamplico, S.C., is majoring in marketing and finance.

Wofford, a native of Myrtle Beach, will graduate in December with a degree in elementary education.

Francis Marion ended the 2008 season ranked fifth in the final NFCA Top 25 poll with a 39-16 record, the third-highest win total in team history. The Patriots earned their first-ever bid to the NCAA Division II national tournament, won the South Atlantic Regional, and advanced to the Division II national finals (Elite Eight) in Houston, Texas.

Over the past four years, the FMU softball program has garnered 27 NFCA All-America Scholar-Athletes awards.

NFCA NCAA Division II All-Academic Teams (Top 20)

No. School GPA

1 Grand Canyon University 3.68
2 Grand Valley State University 3.575
3 Southeastern Oklahoma St. Univ. 3.482
4 Lewis University 3.428
5 Emporia State University 3.416
6 Tiffin University 3.412
7 Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania 3.409
8 Rockhurst University 3.406
9 Quincy University 3.388
10 Chowan University 3.38
11 Barry University 3.38
12 Regis University 3.372
13 Adelphi University 3.368
14 Francis Marion University 3.36
15 The University of Findlay 3.353
16 Chadron State College 3.35
17 Florida Southern College 3.343
18 Wayne State University 3.308
19 C.W. Post - Long Island Univ. 3.303
20 Limestone College 3.297