May 12, 2006

CEDAR RAPIDS , IOWA . . . Five Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) softball student-athletes and one IIAC baseball student-athlete were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII Teams selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and announced on Thursday.

Buena Vista University outfielder Molly Luchtel (Milford, Iowa/Okoboji) and Wartburg College short stop Cari Kinzenbaw (Ladora, Iowa/HLV) were named Academic All-District VII softball First Team. Central College first baseman Abby Frye (Charles City, Iowa/Charles City), Luther College third baseman Katie Hopp (Belmond, Iowa/Belmond-Klemme) and Luther outfielder Christina Gaard (Decorah, Iowa/Decorah) were named to the Second Team.

Luchtel is a senior psychology and Spanish major with a 4.00 grade point average. Kinzenbaw is a senior engineering science major with a 4.00 GPA. Frye is a senior chemistry major with a 3.97 GPA. Hopp is a senior biology major with a 3.54 GPA. Gaard is a junior biology/pre-pharmacy major with a 3.64 GPA.

Central College catcher Adam Duerfeldt (Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) was an Academic All-District VII baseball First Team selection. He is a senior chemistry major with a 3.87 GPA.

The ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District softball Team consisted of a 13-member First Team and a nine-member Second Team. The ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District baseball Team consisted of an 11-member First Team and a 12-member Second Team.

Student-athletes named to the First Team move on to the national Academic All-America® ballot. ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® baseball Team is scheduled to be announced Wednesday, May 30. ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® softball Team is scheduled to be announced Thursday, May 31.

To be eligible for selection to the Academic All-District Team, a student-athlete must have reached sophomore academic and athletic standing, be a starter or key reserve and possess at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale).

District VII College Division includes NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA schools in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

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