Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Soccer Earns Academic Accolades
November 02, 2010 | Cowgirl Soccer
Nov. 2, 2010
STILLWATER, Okla. - Oklahoma State set a program record with 13 players on the 2010 Academic All-Big 12 Conference First Team, and the Cowgirls also placed three players on ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-District 6 teams. Both teams were announced today.
A year after setting a program record with 11 Academic All-Big 12 First Team selections, the Cowgirls surpassed that total by two. OSU's 13 student-athletes also led the conference in 2010.
Highlighting OSU's Academic All-Big 12 honorees is the Cowgirls' senior class as all five members of that class - Allyson Leggett, Annika Niemeier, Katie Richardson, Ellen Thompson and Whitney Wernimont - earned Academic All-Big 12 accolades.
For three of the seniors, 2010 marked their third-straight year on the Academic All-Big 12 First Team as Niemeier, Richardson and Wernimont earned that distinction. Leggett was also a second-team selection in 2009, while Thompson is a first-time honoree.
OSU also had six juniors named Academic All-Big 12 First Team in Sarah Brown, Elizabeth DeLozier, Colleen Dougherty, Krista Lopez, Melinda Mercado and Kyndall Treadwell. Each of those players earned first-team accolades for the second consecutive year, and Lopez was one of just five players in the conference nominated with a 4.00 grade point average.
Rounding out the Cowgirls' list of Academic All-Big 12 first teamers were sophomores Megan Marchesano and Carson Michalowski, who each garnered the honor in their first year to be eligible.
Nominated by each institution's director of student-athlete support services, the 2010 Academic All-Big 12 soccer teams consisted of 79 first-team members combined with 22 on the second team. First team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA, and the second team are those who have a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.
To qualify student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 60 percent of their team's scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are also eligible.
Earning spots on the ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-District Teams for District 6 were Lopez, Dougherty and Wernimont.
Lopez, a management/accounting major, was named to the first team and is now eligible for Academic All-America honors. Dougherty (psychology) was named to the second team, while Wernimont (nutritional sciences - allied health) was a third-team selection.
To be nominated for ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.30 and have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's games.
