Hokie ClubNOTRE DAME, Ind. - Senior pitcher Angela Tincher of Virginia Tech and senior pitcher Maria Bye of the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota head the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Softball Teams, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Tincher, the University Division Academic All-America of the Year, makes her third consecutive appearance on the Academic All-America squad, including a pair of first-team selections. A native of Eagle Rock, Va., she posted a 3.84 cumulative grade point average in finance. The USA Softball National Player of the Year and winner of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, Tincher was earlier named Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year for the third season in a row. She currently has a 38-8 record with a nation-low 0.62 earned run average. Tincher, a three-time NFCA All-American and 2007 and 2008 ACC Tournament MVP, holds the ACC records for career wins (123) and ranks third on the NCAA's all-time strikeouts list with 2,121. Tincher, who has thrown 14 career no-hitters, is second in NCAA history with 13.9 K's per seven innings.
Joining Tincher on the University Division Academic All-America first team were infielders Jessica Chrabaszcz (Delaware State), Jessica Toocheck (Kent State), Colleen McGlaughlin (Iowa), Sara Dyer (Tulsa); pitcher Stacey Nelson of Florida; catcher Chelsea Bramlett of Mississippi State; outfielders Lisa Kingsmore (Winthrop), Lillian Hammond (Tennessee) and Amber Maisonet (Albany); and designated player Mary Beth Puccio of Fordham.
Tincher, Dyer and Hammond repeated as first-team selections, while Kingsmore was a member of the 2007 second team.
Bye, from Maple Plain, Minn., is the College Division Academic All-America of the Year, as she concluded a magnificent senior season. A three-time Division III All-America selection and a three-time first-team Academic All-America selection, Bye led St. Thomas to a 42-5 record. As a pitcher, she was 21-2 with a 1.29 earned run average and 120 strikeouts in 119.1 innings. In her career, she was 85-10 with a 0.99 ERA and 702 strikeouts in 533.2 innings. As a batter this season, she hit .397 with a team-leading 12 home runs and 42 RBI. She hit .403 for her career with 37 home runs and 175 RBI. In the classroom, she produced a 3.93 grade point average in biochemistry. A repeat selection as Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Pitcher and Player of the Year, Bye established MIAC career marks in wins and strikeouts.
Joining Bye on the Academic All-America first team are pitcher Jennifer Martinez (St. Joseph's-Long Island); catcher Catherine Beuerle (Shenandoah); infielders Dana Cebular (Aurora), Heather Ebert (Adams State), Rachel Click (Gustavus Adolphus) and Mindy Crabaugh (Oklahoma City); outfielders Lynndi Decker (Minnesota State, Mankato), Casie Hanson (North Dakota) and Mandy Nixon (Virginia Wesleyan); and designated player Kylee Brouwer (Hope).
Decker is a first-team Academic All-America selection for the second straight year. Martinez was a second-team selection last year, while Click and Hanson were third-team selections a year ago.
To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.