May 31, 2006
Release courtesy of Mark Adkins, Wartburg College sports information director

WAVERLY, IOWA . . . Wartburg College senior softball shortstop Cari Kinzenbaw of Ladora was named college division Academic All-America of the Year for ESPN The Magazine and CoSIDA’s (Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America) softball honor teams, released today. The collegiate division is made up of student-athletes from NCAA Divisions II and III and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

An engineering science major with a 4.0 grade-point average, Kinzenbaw helped lead the Knights to a No. 8 ranking in the final National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s Division III poll and a 40-7 record, setting a new program record for the most wins in a season. She concluded her senior season with a team-high .451 batting average and 69 hits along with 10 doubles, five triples, six home runs and 43 RBIs.

Kinzenbaw, the 59th academic All-American at Wartburg and the 42nd since 1990, is the second student-athlete to earn college division Academic All-America of the Year accolades for the Knights. Former men’s basketball standout Dan Nettleton was so honored in 1991.

-30-