Allison Brown is congratulated during a game last season. Brown is one of five softball team members that was recognized for academic achievement.
Quentin Winstine | The Daily Mississippian
The National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced last Monday that five Rebel softball players were named NFCA All-America Scholar Athletes.
Brittany Broome, Kelly Nolan, Alyssa Invergo, Allison Brown and Londen Ladner were named NFCA All-America Scholar Athletes for holding a GPA of 3.5 or higher for both the fall 2012 and spring 2013 academic terms.
The Ole Miss softball team was also named a 2013 NFCA Top Ten All-Academic Team for holding a GPA of 3.18.
Ole Miss head coach Windy Thees said she is proud of her team and the academic staff’s hard work.
“As a team, we had a goal, and we actually came just short of it,” Thees said. “We wanted a 3.2 GPA. We are still going to try to reach that goal this year.”
The spring semester is harder on the players. Not only do they practice six days a week, they are required to attend morning workouts at 6 a.m.
Thees said the team plays 56 games in a season, meaning the team is gone just about every Friday.
“They don’t get extra time to do their assignments,” Thees said. “If they have a paper due Friday or a test, they have to get it done ahead of time.”
Abigail M. Drescher, academic adviser for the softball team, said she helps the team by assisting them with learning time management skills, teaching them how to use a planner and how to study to make the most of their time.
“The softball student-athletes work very hard both on the field and in the classroom,” Drescher said. “I motivate them by making sure I know each on of them on a personal level.”
Brown said she is thankful for how the academic staff has helped the players by giving them a required amount of hours in study hall each week.
“I’m so proud of our team,” Brown said. “It proves that even though we are talented on the field, we are hard workers in the classroom.”
The Rebels enter year three under Thees, associate head coach Mike Perniciaro and assistant coach Julie Meyer with 13 letter-winners returning, including the entire starting infield.
The Rebels led the Southeastern Conference and were ranked third nationally with a .979 fielding percentage last season.
Ole Miss’ 16-9 start last season tied the second-best start in program history for the opening 25 games, and the Rebels’ nine-game winning streak from Feb. 20 through March 1 tied the program’s longest winning streak.
