Thursday, July 1, 2021

PORTLAND, Ore. – Six GNAC softball standouts are being recognized for their achievements on the diamond and in the classroom with selection to the College Sports Information Directors of America’s (CoSIDA) Division II Academic All-District 8 Softball Team.

Regular-season champion Northwest Nazarene netted three selections in sophomore pitcher Sidney Booth, senior infielder Ivy Hommel and junior outfielder Maia McNicoll. Conference champion Western Washington landed two honorees in junior infielder Tatum Dow and junior outfielder Lauren Lo. Montana State Billings senior infielder Brittanee Fisher rounds out the selections.

The Academic All-District teams are nominated and voted upon by members of CoSIDA and recognize student-athletes of sophomore standing or higher who are starters or significant reserves for their teams with a minimum GPA of 3.30 or better. The players selected will be put up for consideration for the Academic All-America Team, which will be announced on July 28.

Booth, who has a 3.89 cumulative GPA as a pre-physical therapy major, was named the GNAC Player of the Year while also being named a Second Team All-American by the NFCA and a Third Team All-American by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA). She finished the season with a 16-4 record and led the conference with a 1.80 earned run average. Booth struck out a league-leading 176 batters, which ranked 17th in Division II, and ranked eighth in the GNAC with a .364 batting average.

Dow, who has a 3.90 GPA as a physical education & health major, was selected as the GNAC Newcomer of the Year while also earning Second Team NFCA All-American and Honorable Mention D2CCA All-American accolades. Dow led the conference with a .417 batting average while compiling a .635 slugging percentage and a .417 on-base percentage. She finished tied for second in the GNAC with 48 hits, eighth with 26 RBI and tied for ninth with six home runs.

Fisher, who has a 3.81 GPA as a health & human performance major, was a First Team All-GNAC and Second Team NFCA All-West Region selection at first base. Fisher led the Yellowjackets with a .334 batting average and ranked second in the GNAC with 11 home runs. She also ranked third in the conference with a .507 slugging percentage and seventh with 67 total bases.

Hommel owns a 3.74 GPA as a secondary education major. She was named First Team All-GNAC and consensus Second Team All-West Region at shortstop after ranking fourth in the conference with a .383 batting average. Hommel led the conference with 59 hits, 45 runs and 14 doubles while tying for second with 36 RBI. She also ranked 18th in Division II with 27 stolen bases.

Lo has a 3.80 GPA as an accounting major and earned First Team All-GNAC and Second Team NFCA All-West Region honors. Lo finished fifth in the GNAC with a .382 batting average while compiling 42 hits, 12 doubles, three home runs and 19 RBI with a .591 slugging percentage. She ranked second in the conference in doubles and tied for sixth in hits.

McNicoll, who has a 3.53 GPA as a criminal justice major, finished seventh in the conference with a .369 batting average and led the GNAC with 12 home runs. She ranked tied for second in the GNAC with 48 hits and 36 RBI and was also second with 92 total bases.

The CoSIDA Division II Academic All-District 8 Team is comprised of players from the GNAC, the California Collegiate Athletic Association and the PacWest Conference. The PacWest had five of the team’s honorees while the CCAA had one honoree.