May 18, 2009

Center Valley, Pa.--Seven Patriot League student-athletes were recognized as members of the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District team, which was selected last week. The honor is voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) whose schools are in the region. To be eligible for the award, individuals must be at least a sophomore, as well as a starter or key reserve on her team with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.20.

Five Patriot League student-athletes were named to the District II team, including three first-team honorees. CoSIDA's District II consists of schools in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Lehigh had two first-team selections, while Bucknell had one named to the first team and two on the second team.

Two of Lehigh's captains were honored for their work in the classroom as seniors Alisha Gonzales and Lisa Sweeney were named to the first team. Sweeney has added yet another major academic award to her already impressive resume. A 2008 third team Academic All-America, Sweeney earns first team All-District honors for the third time. A multiple-time member of both the Dean's List and Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, Sweeney carries a 3.79 grade point average has a history major.

In the last two weeks, the Lumberton, N.J. native has been named the Patriot League's Scholar-Athlete of the Year for softball and earned Lehigh's highest departmental honor by being named the graduating Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

On the field, Sweeney recently became just the seventh four-time first team All-Patriot League selection in league softball history and became the first player to win four consecutive Pitcher of the Year Awards. She holds Patriot League single season and career records for wins and strikeouts, and is enjoying another strong season with a 20-8 record, 2.13 ERA, 214 strikeouts and eight shutouts. At the plate, Sweeney is batting .342 with 29 RBI and a team-best seven home runs.

Gonzales earns the first Academic All-District honor of her career, by capturing one of the first team outfield spots. A member of Lehigh's student-athlete executive council, Gonzales boasts a 3.70 as a double major in Psychology and Women's Studies and has made regular appearances on the Dean's List and Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.

The Marlton, N.J. native is also a two-time first team All-League selection, and was one of the Mountain Hawks top offensive threats in league play, where she batted .438 with three homers and 16 RBI. Gonzales is batting .360 overall this season and ranks among the team leaders with four home runs and 26 RBI.

Lehigh's two honorees this year mark the fourth straight year that the Mountain Hawks have had multiple softball student-athletes recognized as Academic All-District selections.

Bucknell's Ashley Beans, Ashley Carlson and Mary Pavlovich were named to the All-District II team. Beans was a First Team honoree, making her a national finalist for Academic All-America honors, while Carlson and Pavlovich were each voted to the Second Team. With the trio's selection, Bucknell softball has now placed at least one student-athlete on the All-District list for six consecutive years.

Beans, who was named First Team All-Patriot League this season, earns her first career All-District selection by posting a 3.71 GPA while majoring in economics and minoring in philosophy. The senior outfielder has been named to several Patriot League Academic Honor Rolls, is a frequent member of the Dean's List and is active in the Alpha Lambda Delta and Omicron Delta Epsilon honor societies.

On the field, Beans has proven herself to be one of the most consistent players in Bison history. A four year-starter, she is the program leader in career games played with 196. All that time has paid off as she also ranks fifth in career home runs (11), seventh in career runs scored (75) and 11th in career triples (8). In her senior campaign, Beans is hitting .318 and leads the squad in hits (41), triples (6) and home runs (8).

Carlson has proved herself on and off the field throughout her four years in the Orange and Blue. The senior outfielder has recorded a 3.89 GPA, including a perfect 4.0 during the 2008 fall semester, while majoring in elementary education. A frequent member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll and Dean's List, she is active in the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society and serves as treasurer of the Kappa Delta Pi Education Honor Society. Carlson's passion for teaching continues in her work off campus, as she volunteers as Bucknell Buddies tutor, a cheerleading coach at her high school alma mater and works with a local elementary school tutoring in English-as-a-Second-Language.

On the field, Carlson ranks second in program history in games played, having seen time in 194 career contests. She is also eighth in career hits (147), fourth in runs scored (97) and third in stolen bases (47). Carlson has led the Bison in stolen bases each of her four seasons with the squad, even topping the Patriot League in the category in 2007. A co-captain this year, Carlson is batting .264 with 15 stolen bases on 17 attempts.

Pavlovich makes the team with a 3.63 GPA while majoring in cell biology/biochemistry. The junior has been a member of several Dean's Lists as well as Patriot League Academic Honor Rolls. She is also very active on an off campus, serving as a resident assistant for a freshman hall and interning with State Senator John Wozniak and V.E. Erickson Little League.

There were also two Patriot League selections on the District I squad. Army Junior outfielder Cassie Ellington and Holy Cross junior infielder Mandy Correale were named to the second team.

Ellington, a junior engineering psychology major with a 3.33 grade point average, was one of 11 players selected for second team All-District I accolades. The District I team includes all NCAA Division I schools within the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.

In the fall, Ellington was one of two Black Knights named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America Scholar Athlete. The three-year starting outfielder has been a Dean's List student since her freshman year and is a two-time Patriot League Academic Honor Roll selection who should repeat this spring.

Ellington played errorless ball this spring as Army's right fielder, while committing just 11 miscues in 146 chances over the past three years. Four of her seven runs batted in (which tied her personal best) this season were recorded over a six-game span late in the spring. The Florida native drove in three of those runs against conference rival Colgate.

Ellington is the first Black Knight to be selected for CoSIDA District I honors since Lindsey Gerheim in 2007, and it is the fifth time an Army player has earned this honor.. Gerheim was a two-time first team election in 2005 (outfield) and 2007 (shortstop); Veronica Lauzon was named to the second team as the designated player in 2005; while Melissa Parish was the first Black Knight to receive this honor with her selection as an outfielder to the second unit in 2002. Ellington is the third Army outfielder to earn this honor

In addition to excelling on the diamond and in the classroom, Ellington has held leadership roles in the Corps of Cadets. She was a Squad Leader during the fall and winter semesters this year and will be a Platoon Leader at Camp Buckner this summer. Over Thanksgiving break, she was the group leader during a Leadership Class with 12 high schools students hosted by USF (Tampa, Fla.), while recently participating with members of her Cadet Company in the Avon Breast Cancer Walk in New York City.

Correale is just the second member of the Holy Cross softball team to earn this honor and the first to make the second team. She is an Economics major with a Pre-Medicine concentration. She has a cumulative grade point average of 3.87. Correale has been on the Holy Cross Dean's List First Honors for all five semesters and was named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll in 2007 and 2008. She is a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee Executive Board, an organic chemistry tutor and a volunteer with Best Buddies since 2006.

Correale was recently named to the All-Patriot League second team at third base. She finished the season with a .265 batting average and a .932 fielding percentage. Correale was second on the team with 35 hits, her six doubles were third and her five sacrifice bunts led the Crusaders.