LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Simmons University softball team had 11 student-athletes named to the Easton/National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America Scholar-Athlete Team, while the Sharks ranked 28th as a team in grade point average for the 2018-19 academic year, it was announced by the NFCA.
Simmons tallied a 3.459 GPA to place among the top teams in the nation among NCAA Division III softball programs and rank as the Sharks highest standing since the 2014-15 academic year when they were 27th overall.
Student-athletes who achieve a 3.5 or better GPA on a 4.0 scale are recognized as NFCA Scholar-Athletes. The total of 11 marks the highest total of individual honorees for Simmons since at least the 2012-13 season.
Lauren Del Vacchio (Murrieta, Calif.), who was a junior last season, was recognized for the second straight year, while sophomores on last year's squad, Danielle Carson (Ashland, Mass.), Devynn Ledgard (Sterling, Mass.), and Hailey Lowell (Pelham, N.H.) were all tapped for the second consecutive year as well. Dom Ortiz (Lawrence, Mass.), who was a senior on the 2019 squad was named for the first time as were last year's sophomores, Emily Barbella (Littleton, Mass.), Ivy Vann (Bend, Ore.) and Hailey Yabroudy (Amherst, N.H.) in addition to first year's from the 2019 team, Shannon McMahon (El Cajon, Calif.), Alex Morang (Windham, Maine) and Allie Mulhern (Westford, Mass.).
Simmons completed the season with a 22-23 mark, including 13-3 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference play to earn the top seed in the South Division, before bowing out in the championship game vs. Saint Joseph, 3-0.