May 13, 2010
HOUSTON, Texas (UCFAthletics.com) - Two days after learning they were selected to All-Conference USA teams, both Abby McClain (Waterloo, Iowa) and Natalie Land (Mayo, Fla.) were honored with spots on the C-USA All-Academic Team Thursday on the opening day of the C-USA Championship hosted by Houston.
McClain, who was one of only four student-athletes to be a repeat selection to the 11-member squad, is no stranger to earning accolades for her successes on and off of the playing field. The junior was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III First Team earlier in the season, while also being selected to the second team as a sophomore in 2009. The catcher, who is pursuing a degree in biology, holds an impressive 3.82 cumulative grade point average (GPA).
Besides earning academic recognition, McClain has also been awarded for her performance on the field. McClain was also a repeat selection to the All-C-USA Second Team after being voted to the squad last season. The junior started all 54 games behind the plate for UCF this season, catching 14 runners stealing and picking off one on the basepaths. Offensively, McClain leads UCF in on-base percentage (.403), walks (23) and times hit by pitch (6), while ranking third in batting average (.293), runs (26), hits (44), doubles (7) and home runs (3).
The junior has been the recipient of the C-USA Commissioner's Academic Medal for maintaining a 3.75 GPA or better three-consecutive years, while also being a three-time C-USA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll member. McClain has also earned a spot on the Dean's List and the A.D.'s Honor Roll all five semesters at UCF.
Land was named to the league's all-academic team for maintaining a remarkable 3.86 cumulative GPA while pursuing a degree in athletic training.
After being named to the All-Freshman Team in 2009, Land put together an impressive sophomore campaign this season to earn her first selection to the All-C-USA First Team. The second baseman paces the Knights in batting average (.313), hits (46), sacrifice hits (16) and stolen bases (17), and sits among the top-10 in C-USA in five different categories. Land was also recently named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III Second Team for her work both on the field and in the classroom.
The Knights are set to play Memphis Friday afternoon in the semifinal round of the C-USA Championship at 12 p.m. ET at Cougar Softball Stadium.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to www.UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit www.UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
2010 C-USA Softball All-Academic Team
Toni Paisley - East Carolina - Junior - 3.45 - Social Work
*Charina Sumner - East Carolina - Senior - 3.94 - Health Education and Promotion
*Kaui Tom - East Carolina - Senior - 4.00 - Health Education and Promotion
Jennifer Klinkert - Houston - R-Sophomore - 3.93 - Nutrition
Katy Beth Sherman - Houston - Junior - 3.93 - Communications
Melanie Stoehr - Marshall - Junior - 3.85 - Sports Management and Marketing
Jill Mathis - Southern Miss - Junior - 3.75 - Community Health
Mandy Lowman - UAB - Sophomore - 4.00 - Secondary Education-Math
Natalie Land - UCF - Sophomore - 3.87 - Athletic Training
*Abby McClain - UCF - Junior - 3.83 - Biology
**Stacie Townsend - UTEP - Graduate - 4.00 - Master's in Business-Economics
*Repeat Selection
-UCF-