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News
MVNU's Kot Named Academic All-America®
Player of the Year
written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director
MOUNT
VERNON, Ohio - Laura Kot, a member of the
Mount Vernon Nazarene University women’s
fastpitch softball team, was honored on
Wednesday when the ESPN The Magazine
Academic All-America® College Division
Softball Teams were announced by the College
Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
(Complete CoSIDA Release)Kot, a
senior second baseman from Tallmadge, Ohio,
was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic
All-America® First Team as she became only
the sixth MVNU athlete in any sport and the
first softball player to be named to a
CoSIDA Academic All-America® First Team. She
also was selected as the College Division
Academic All-America® Player of the Year -
which is a first for an MVNU student-athlete
in any sport.
The former Tallmadge High School star
posted a career-best .462 batting average
with three doubles, one triple, 12 RBI, 27
runs scored, and 17 stolen bases. Kot
finishes her career ranked second in school
history with a .427 batting average, second
in career stolen bases (41), third in career
hits (209), and fourth in career runs scored
(113). She was selected as the American
Mideast Conference South Division Player of
the Year and the National Christian College
Athletic Association East Region Player of
the Year. She was also named to the NCCAA
All-American First Team for the second time
in her career.
Kot, who was on the ESPN The Magazine
Academic All-America® Second Team as a
junior, becomes the first MVNU female
student-athlete to be a two-time CoSIDA
Academic All-America® Team selection. She
joins Diana Kirkpatrick (1995, Third Team)
and Jenni Davis (2002, Third Team) as
previous Lady Cougar softball players to be
named to a CoSIDA Academic All-America®
Team. Kot graduated as the co-valedictorian
of MVNU’s Class of 2007 with a 4.00 grade
point average as a Mathematics major. In
addition to her previous CoSIDA academic
honors, she was a two-time selection to both
the NAIA and NCCAA Scholar-Athlete teams.
The ESPN The Magazine Academic
All-America® College Division Teams are
selected by CoSIDA members. Eligible
student-athletes are nominated by their
school’s sports information director and
must have at least a 3.20 grade point
average and be at least in their sophomore
year. Each of the eight CoSIDA districts
selects an All-District First Team, which is
then forwarded on for consideration at the
national level. The College Division is made
up of all NCAA Division II, III, and NAIA
schools.
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