May 28, 2008

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Junior Ashton Payne became the fifth South Carolina softball player to earn ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors, as she garnered selection as a second-team outfielder according the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) today.

Payne served as the Gamecocks’ leadoff hitter for most of 2008, hitting .348 with seven doubles and six triples, all tops on the team. Her 23 runs scored and 55 hits also led the way, while she ranked second in on-base percentage (.372) and slugging percentage (.468). The Richmond, Va., product compiled an 18-game hitting streak earlier in the season, the third-longest documented streak in South Carolina history. The junior majors in biology.

Payne is the first Carolina Gamecock player to make this elite list since 2006, when Ashley Smith received her third consecutive award. Marianne DiRupo (1989), Kelly Grother (1989) and Kim Pietro (1999) are also previous CoSIDA Academic All-Americans from South Carolina. For Payne, it brings her haul for the year to four awards, as she was previously named to the SEC Softball Community Service Team, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-South Region second team and the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III first team.

The Southeastern Conference paced all leagues with six members on the three teams. Tennessee had two players selected, one each on the first and second teams, while Mississippi State, Alabama and Florida joined South Carolina with one player. Virginia Tech senior pitcher Angela Tincher was named the Academic All-American of the Year in the university division.

ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America as selected by CoSIDA
2008 Softball University Division

		FIRST TEAM
Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown
P	Angela Tincher	Virginia Tech	Sr.	Eagle Rock, Va.
P	Stacey Nelson	Florida	Jr.	Los Alamitos, Calif.
C	Chelsea Bramlett	Mississippi State	So.	Cordova, Tenn.
IF	Jessica Chrabaszcz	Delaware State	Sr.	Johnston, R.I.
IF	Jessica Toocheck	Kent State	Sr.	Medina, Ohio
IF	Colleen McGlaughlin	Iowa	Jr.	Morton, Ill.
IF	Sara Dyer	Tulsa	Sr.	Sand Springs, Okla.
OF	Lisa Kingsmore	Winthrop	Jr.	Brampton, Ontario
OF	Lillian Hammond	Tennessee	Jr.	Chattanooga, Tenn.
OF	Amber Maisonet	Albany	Sr.	Newburgh, N.Y.
DP	Mary Beth Puccio	Fordham	Jr.	Brightwaters, N.Y.
		SECOND TEAM
Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown
P	Megan Rhodes	Tennessee	Sr.	Nashville, Tenn.
P	Tara Oltman	Creighton	So.	Cortland, Neb.
C	Laura Matthews	Dayton	Sr.	Nashville, Tenn.
IF	Stephanie Fischer	Tennessee Tech	Sr.	Stevens Point, Wis.
IF	Brianna Bricker	St. Bonaventure	Sr.	Albion, Pa.
IF	Beth Boden	Tennessee Tech	Sr.	Plover, Wis.
IF	Valerie Chapple	Kansas	Jr.	Overland Park, Kan.
OF	Jackie Vasquez	Arizona State	Sr.	Tucson, Ariz.
OF	Kaitlin Cochran	Arizona State	Jr.	Yorba Linda, Calif.
OF	Ashton Payne	South Carolina	Jr.	Richmond, Va.
DP	Aimee Enzler	North Dakota State	Sr.	Wayzata, Minn.
		THIRD TEAM
Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown
P	Michelle Moses	Brown	Jr.	Cooper City, Fla.
P	Molly Hill	Nebraska	Jr.	Wayne, Neb.
P	Lisa Sweeney	Lehigh	Jr.	Lumberton, N.J.
P	Hayley Wiemer	Bowling Green State	Jr.	Sylvania, Ohio
C	Jessica DePippo	Long Island	Gr.	Westlake Village, Calif.
IF	Allison Vallas	Bowling Green State	Sr.	Perrysburg, Ohio
IF	Katie Miranto	Canisius	Sr.	North Tonawanda, N.Y.
IF	Charlotte Morgan	Alabama	So.	Moreno Valley, Calif.
IF	Whitney Haller	Georgia Tech	Jr.	Marietta, Ga.
OF	Krystal Stein	Southern Illinois	Sr.	Nashville, Ill.
OF	Brooke Lockhart	Southeastern Louisiana	Sr.	Christchurch, New Zealand
OF	Alessandra Giampaolo	Michigan	Sr.	Pasadena, Calif.
DP	Kat Krause	Loyola (Ill.)	Sr.	Arlington Heights, Ill.