Benavidez Named Student-Athlete of the Year
6/18/2013 12:39:00 PM | Softball
Sam Houston State senior Tori Benavidez has been named the Southland Conference Softball Student-Athlete of the Year, the league office announced Tuesday in conjunction with the release of the All-Academic Softball Teams.
Benavidez, a native of Midlothian, Texas (Midlothian H.S.), graduated with a 3.50 grade-point average in general business and is the first softball student-athlete of the year from Sam Houston State.
The Bearkat outfielder was named the conference's player and hitter of the year after leading the league in runs scored (51), total hits (52), total bases (117), stolen bases (22) and ranking second in batting average (.406) and at bats (202).
The first-team all-conference selection was named to the NCAA Central All-Region team and finished her career ranked second all-time at Sam Houston State in batting average (.358). Benavidez earned all-tournament honors after leading the Bearkats to the championship game of the Southland tournament.
Benavidez, a Sam Houston Dean's List student, is the softball team representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Sam Houston State led all schools with six student-athletes on the all-academic teams followed by Northwestern State with five and McNeese State with four. Central Arkansas had three members while Houston Baptist and Southeastern Louisiana both had two. Nicholls State and Stephen F. Austin had one apiece.
Ashley Isbell and Alyssa Coggins join Benavidez on the first team while Kim Damian, Shelby Lancaster and Jessica Slater are members of the second team.
The student-athlete of the year, selected by the league's awards committee, will have attained athletics achievement for at least two years at the nominating institution, possess at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and demonstrated extracurricular service at her campus and or community.
The all-academic teams are voted on by the head coaches, sports information directors and academic/compliance administrators from each Southland university. Student-athletes must possess a 3.0 cumulative GPA, have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution and participated in at least 50 percent of the team's competition to qualify for the all-academic squad.
2013 Southland Conference Softball All-Academic Teams
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First Team |
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Name |
University |
Class |
Hometown |
GPA |
Major |
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Tori Benavidez^,1,3 |
Sam Houston State |
Sr. |
Midlothian, Texas |
3.50 |
General Business |
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Melissa Bryant1,3 |
Central Arkansas |
Sr. |
Hernando, Miss. |
3.70 |
Nursing |
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Elizabeth Arana1,2 |
Stephen F. Austin |
Jr. |
The Woodlands, Texas |
4.00 |
Kinesiology |
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Alanna DiVittorio1,2 |
McNeese State |
Jr. |
Harahan, La. |
3.84 |
Civil Engineering |
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Brianna Rodriguez1 |
Northwestern State |
Jr. |
Rowlett, Texas |
3.49 |
Psychology/Addiction Studies |
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Victoria Granchelli1 |
Houston Baptist |
So. |
McAllen, Texas |
3.35 |
Kinesiology |
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Meagan Bond1 |
McNeese State |
Sr. |
Lumberton, Miss. |
3.13 |
Exercise Science |
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Kylie Roos2 |
Northwestern State |
Sr. |
Celina, Texas |
3.45 |
Industrial Engineering Tech |
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Ashley Bertot |
Nicholls State |
Sr. |
League City, Texas |
3.90 |
Accounting |
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Sam Houston State |
Gr. |
Katy, Texas |
4.00 |
Kinesiology |
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Tara McKenney2 |
Northwestern State |
Jr. |
Red Oak, Texas |
3.32 |
Communications |
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Sam Houston State |
Jr. |
Sealy, Texas |
3.75 |
General Business |
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Second Team |
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Name |
University |
Class |
Hometown |
GPA |
Major |
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Brittany Virgoe |
Northwestern State |
So. |
Anaheim, Calif. |
3.81 |
Nursing/Psychology |
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Melissa Herman |
Houston Baptist |
So. |
Katy, Texas |
3.79 |
Business |
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Sam Houston State |
Sr. |
Angleton, Texas |
3.18 |
Interdisciplinary Studies |
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Kelsey Nichols2 |
Southeastern La. |
Sr. |
Alvin, Texas |
3.27 |
Family and Consumer Sciences |
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Katie Roux2 |
McNeese State |
Jr. |
Denham Springs, La. |
4.00 |
Health Education |
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Sam Houston State |
Jr. |
Tomball, Texas |
3.45 |
Kinesiology |
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Ashley Boswell |
Central Arkansas |
So. |
Tahlequah, Okla. |
3.60 |
Health Sci. – Physical Therapy |
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Lauren Langner |
McNeese State |
So. |
Pearland, Texas |
3.50 |
General Studies |
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Sam Houston State |
So. |
Katy, Texas |
3.59 |
Interdisciplinary Studies |
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Megan McCollum2 |
Southeastern La. |
Jr. |
Lafayette, La. |
3.63 |
Kinesiology |
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Cali Burke |
Northwestern State |
Jr. |
Mesquite, Texas |
3.36 |
Psychology/Addiction Studies |
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Melanie Bryant3 |
Central Arkansas |
Sr. |
Hernando, Miss. |
3.30 |
Nursing |
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^2013 Southland Softball Student-Athlete of the Year
1Automatic Selection
2Two-time all-academic selection
3Three-time all-academic selection
