June 28, 2010
(portions courtesy of Dave Blanchard, Luther College sports information director, and Mark Adkins, Wartburg College sports information director)
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana . . . The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has announced today that Wartburg College track & field athlete Jenny Kordick (St. Charles, Iowa/Interstate 35) and Luther College softball player Kim Lambert (Coal Valley, Ill./Moline) have been awarded NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships. The NCAA awards up to 174 postgraduate scholarships annually, 87 for men and 87 for women.
The scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition. The one-time, non-renewable grants of $7,500 each are awarded for fall sports, winter sports and spring sports. Each sports season (fall, winter and spring), there are 29 scholarships available for men and 29 scholarships available for women.
To qualify for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must be nominated by his or her athletic department, have an overall grade point average of 3.2 (on a 4.0 scale) or its equivalent, and must have performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which the student-athlete was nominated. The student-athlete must have behaved, both on and off the field, in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution, and intercollegiate athletics. The student-athlete also must intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a full-time or part-time graduate student.
Kim Lambert, Luther College softball
Lambert, a National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) first-team All-American pitcher, helped lead Luther to a school record 42-7 and its first trip to the NCAA III Championship Finals since 1991, where the Norse finished fifth. She was also named first-team all-Midwest Region and first-team all-Iowa Conference. She posted a record of 21-5 en route to an ERA of 1.10, while setting the single season school record for wins and strike outs with 202. The old record of 167 had been on the books since 1974. She also set the Luther career record for strikeouts with 489. She completed her career with a record is 45-13 that included 13 shutouts and two no hitters.
Academically, Lambert was a four-time NFCA Scholar Athlete, a three-time Iowa Conference all-academic honoree (3.5 gpa or higher) and was also named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII team. She graduated Magna cum laude with a gpa of 3.71 as a Biology major and Spanish minor. She will attend graduate school for Physical Therapy at Mayo Graduate School of Heath beginning the fall of 2010.
Jenny Kordick, Wartburg College track & field
Kordick, a native of St. Charles, is a combined 12-time indoor and outdoor All-American. She has been part of four national championship relays teams indoors and outdoors as well. Baker has also excelled in the classroom, being named a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine College Division Academic All-America® in 2008 and 2009, earning spring all-academic honors from the Iowa Conference in 2007 and 2008 and being named to the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s all-academic team in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
The awards continue long and impressive traditions for both institiutions. Wartburg has had at least one NCAA post-graduate scholar in each of the last seven years. The institution’s all-time total is 31 with 24 of those being presented since 1991. With this award, Lambert becomes the 32nd Luther student-athlete and the seventh student-athlete in the past five years to receive this award.
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