Santana Scholar Athlete of the Year; Four Others Honored
5/8/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MACON, Ga. – Mercer senior Sarah Santana highlights a group of five Mercer softball players named to Atlantic Sun All-Conference and All-Academic teams on Tuesday as she was selected as the A-Sun Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Santana, who carries a 3.91 GPA in accounting at Mercer, picks up the conference's top student-athlete academic award less than a week after she was named to the Capital One Academic All-District Team.
She headlines a collection of five Mercer players to be named to one of the four All A-Sun teams including: Junior McKenzie Woody (First Team All-Conference), juniors Krista Kennedy and Randi Rea (Second Team All-Conference) and freshman Marissa Botz (All-Freshmen Team).
"It's a great honor to have these student athletes recognized by the conference for their commitment to excellence both on and off of the playing field," head coach James DeFeo said. "I think this is a testament to the hard work and dedication that our student athletes put in every day as a Mercer Softball athlete and representative of the positive direction that our program is headed in."
In addition to being the Scholar Athlete of the Year, Santana was also named to the A-Sun Academic All-Conference Team for her efforts this season.
"I couldn't think of another student-athlete that is more deserving to receive the Scholar Athlete of the Year award than Sarah," DeFeo said. "She possesses the spirit, tenacity, and work ethic that it takes to excel at the highest levels in every endeavor that she is involved in. Sarah truly embodies what it means to be a Mercer University softball player."
For Woody, the First Team selection is the second in as many years as she led the conference once again with 80 hits and a .437 batting average – both of which broke her own Mercer single season records from a year ago.
Woody now carries a .399 career batting average in her three years and is just four hits shy of breaking the all-time hits record at Mercer.
Krista Kennedy and Randi Rea claimed second team honors for the first time in their careers after remarkable junior campaigns. Kennedy set the Mercer single season mark with 57 RBI and Rea had the conference's sixth best slugging percentage.
The two traded for the team lead in homeruns throughout the year with Kennedy finishing with 13 and Rea right behind her with 12. The two combined for the most homeruns among any duo in the A-Sun.
Freshman Marissa Botz fought through adversity and injury in her first year in Macon, yet still managed to bat .337 and secure All-Freshmen honors on Tuesday. Botz, played in just over half the team's games because of injury but was able to contribute 30 hits and 12 RBI in that time.
Co-Players of the Year: Chelsea Zgrabik, FGCU; Sarah Simon, Jacksonville
Pitcher of the Year: Kaylie Wallace, North Florida
Freshman of the Year: Jamie Ujvari, USC Upstate
Coach of the Year: Marcie Hickey, North Florida
First Team All-Conference
| Pos. |
Name | School | Yr. |
Hometown | Major |
| C | Sarah Simon |
Jacksonville | Sr. | New Port Richey, Fla. |
Marketing |
| INF | Karson Tuck |
Jacksonville |
Jr. | Walkersville, Md. |
Biology |
| INF | Brittany Elmore |
Lipscomb |
Fr. | Mount Juliet, Tenn. |
Elementary Education |
| INF | Paige Neely |
Lipscomb | So. | Nashville, Tenn. |
Law Justice & Society |
| INF | Maddison Kieffer |
USC Upstate |
So. | Middleburg, Fla. |
Nursing |
| OF | Meredith Barnes |
USC Upstate |
Jr. | Salem, Oregon |
Sociology |
| OF | McKenzie Woody | Mercer | Jr. | Fayetteville, Ga. | Education |
| OF | Shellie Robinson |
USC Upstate | So. | DeLand, Fla. |
Chemistry |
| P | Kaylie Wallace |
North Florida |
So. | North Palm Beach, Fla. |
Accounting |
| P | Jamie Ujvari |
USC Upstate |
Fr. | Niceville, Fla. |
Physical Education |
| DP/Util | Sharon Swanson |
Kennesaw State | Sr. | Canton, Ga. |
Physical Education |
Second Team All-Conference
| Pos. |
Name | School | Yr. |
Hometown | Major |
| C | Chelsea Zgrabik |
FGCU | Jr. | Venice, Fla. |
English |
| INF | Krista Kennedy |
Mercer |
Jr. | Marietta, Ga. | Psychology |
| INF | Randi Rea | Mercer | Jr. | Suwanee, Ga. |
Mathematics |
| INF | Kelly Wilson |
North Florida |
So. | Jacksonville Beach, Fla. |
Communications |
| INF | Cheyenne Griffin |
USC Upstate |
So. | Moore, S.C. |
Criminal Justice |
| OF | Kelsey Carpenter |
FGCU |
So. | Ovieda, Fla. |
Physical Therapy |
| OF | Gracey Aguirre |
Lipscomb |
So. | Houston, Texas |
Biology |
| OF | Danica Mandarano |
North Florida |
Jr. | Boca Raton, Fla. |
Health Administration |
| P | Amanda Henderson |
Kennesaw State |
Jr. | Covington, Ga. |
International Business |
| P | Meredith Owen |
Stetson |
Jr. | Jackson, Miss. |
Marketing |
| DP/Util | Emily Lanier | FGCU | So. | St. Cloud, Fla. |
Undeclared |
All-Freshmen Team
| Pos. |
Name | School | Hometown | Major |
| OF | Victoria Brown |
Jacksonville |
Plano, Texas |
Aviation |
| INF | Brittany Elmore |
Lipscomb |
Mount Juliet, Tenn. |
Elementary Education |
| INF | Kayla Drury |
Stetson |
DeLand, Fla. |
Business |
| INF | Emily Sanchez |
Jacksonville |
Palmdale, Calif. |
Sports Administration |
| INF | Mickey Bell |
Lipscomb |
Clark Hill, S.C. |
Exercise Science |
| P | Jaime Ujvari |
USC Upstate |
Niceville, Fla. |
Physical Education |
| P | Tanner Sanders |
Lipscomb |
Flintville, Tenn. |
Elementary Education |
| P | Cecile Gomez |
Jacksonville |
Lake City, Fla. | Nursing |
| Util | Marissa Botz |
Mercer |
Katy, Texas |
English |
| Util | Brittany Hawn | Stetson | Kaneohe, Hawaii | Sociology |
| C | Jessica Griffin | Stetson | Port Saint John, Fla. | English |
*- Unanimous Choice
