Five Badgers named NFCA All-America Scholar-Athletes
October 04, 2014 | Softball
Oct. 4, 2014
MADISON, Wis. – Five members of the Wisconsin softball team earned NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete honors for the 2013-14 academic year, as announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) this past Thursday.
Seniors Maria Van Abel and Megan Tancill, as well as junior Taylor-Paige Stewart and sophomore Taylor Berry were each recognized with the award. Staci Roscizewski rounded out the honorees for Wisconsin.
“We are so proud of Taylor, Taylor, Staci, Megan and Maria,” Wisconsin softball head coach Yvette Healy said. “What an accomplishment to represent the Badgers softball team on the national stage academically. To earn a 3.5 GPA at a top-10 academic school like Wisconsin really speaks volumes to their sacrifice, dedication and persistence.”
Over 4,660 softball players across seven membership divisions earned the accolade by maintaining 3.5 grade-point average or higher.
Stewart and Van Abel are now two-time winners of the award, having also been named NFCA Division 1 All-America Scholar-Athletes for the 2012-13 academic year.
Van Abel adds to her long list of academic success after earning Academic All-Big Ten and being named the Big Ten Distinguished Scholar in 2013.
Stewart, a native of Calabasas, California, also earned Academic All-Big Ten in the 2014 season.
Tancill, a kinesiology major from Verona, was named Academic All-Big Ten earned Academic All-Big Ten in both the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
Berry, a sophomore from Muscatine, Iowa, becomes a first-time selection to the NFCA Scholar-Athlete team after being a two-year member of the National Honor Society in high school.
Roscizewski joined Stewart and Van Abel on the 2014 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars list. A total of 46 UW student-athletes were selected after maintaining a minimum GPA of 3.7 or higher for the academic year.
