Driesenga Named to Academic All-America First Team
5/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 26, 2016
AUSTIN, Texas -- University of Michigan graduate student Sara Driesenga was named to the 2016 Academic All-America Division I softball first team, announced Thursday (May 26) by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Driesenga, a master of social work student, becomes the 13th different Wolverine softball player to earn Academic All-America honors in program history and the third in as many years, following Nicole Sappingfield (2014) and Kelly Christner (2015). She is the sixth to earn first-team selection and the first since Pam Kosanke in 2000.
Driesenga, who received her bachelor's degree in psychology last spring, owns a near-perfect 21-1 record this season after earning a medical hardship and returned for a fifth year of eligibility. She has a 2.10 ERA with 95 strikeouts, three complete-game shutouts and a .227 average against. She was named to the NFCA All-Great Lakes Region first team and All-Big Ten second team and is a three-time all-region and all-conference honoree in her career. She is also a four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection.
She was one of six Big Ten Conference representatives on the Academic All-America teams and one of six with graduate student standing.
Academic All-Americans are selected after a voting process at the district level. Those who are named to all-district first teams advance to the All-America ballot. To be nominated, a student-athlete must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing, be a starter or important reserve with legitimate athletic credentials and have at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA.
CoSIDA has selected Academic All-America teams since 1952. Currently, there are 12 teams named: football, women's volleyball, men's soccer, women's soccer, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, softball, men's track & field/cross country, women's track & field/cross country, men's at-large and women's at-large. First, second and third All-America teams are announced for divisional teams in Division I, Division II and Division III. Two teams are announced in the College Division (NAIA, two-year and Canadian student-athletes).
• Michigan's Academic All-Americans
Communications Contact: Leah Howard
