The Penn State Altoona men’s basketball team was voted first in the 2022 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Preseason Coaches’ Poll, and guard/forward Andruw Harman of Chesapeake, VA, was selected the conference’s Preseason Player of the Year.
GREENWOOD, Ind. — The College Sports Communicators (CSC) organization, formerly known as the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), announced its list of Academic All-District softball student-athletes on Tuesday, May 17.
Among the honorees on the NCAA Division III section of the CSC’s Academic All-District list were first baseman Gianna Hoppel, of Lewistown, and outfielder Madison Lucas, of Philipsburg.
Hoppel was a third-team All-Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference selection this season, when she started 36 of her team's 37 contests. With the bat, she ranked third in the AMCC in hits (48) and walks (17), fifth in on-base percentage (.493), sixth in batting average (.410) and runs scored (30), ninth in RBI (27), 10th in total bases (60), 15th in slugging percentage (.513) and home runs (1), 20th in doubles (7), and 24th in triples (1). Additionally, Hoppel was second in the AMCC in putouts (205), third in double plays turned (6), and fourth in fielding percentage (.995).
Lucas took second-team All-AMCC recognition this spring while starting all 37 games for her team. In the AMCC, she ranked second in sac hits (6), fourth in home runs (4), sixth in walks (13), 14th in stolen bases (6), 15th in RBI (23), 17th in total bases (52), 20th in runs scored (22) and doubles (7), 21st in hits (33), 33rd in on-base percentage (.380), and 35th in batting average (.308). In the field, Lucas was 24th in the AMCC in fielding percentage (.964) while recording a pair of outfield assists.
To be included on the CSC Academic All-District teams, softball student-athletes were required to meet certain qualification criteria. All nominees must have completed at least one calendar year at their current institution while having cumulative grade-point averages of 3.5 or higher at the time of nomination, being key starters or reserves on their team, and having strong athletic accomplishments, statistics, and accolades.
All-District student-athletes were nominated by athletics communication professionals who are members of CSC. Nominators could submit up to four deserving student-athletes per team.
Penn State Altoona softball is 25-12 overall this season and went 11-3 in the AMCC during the regular season. The Lions won the AMCC Tournament last weekend, achieving their third-ever conference title win. Penn State Altoona will be making its third NCAA Division III Tournament appearance this week, starting with a game against Case Western Reserve University on Thursday, May 18, at 4:30 p.m. in the Cleveland Regional round.
Academic All-District honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America honorees will be announced June 6.
