Nebraska Wesleyan University senior softball player Marcia Kennedy was named to the Capital One Academic All-America® Softball Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Kennedy was named to the Academic All-America® Third-Team in the college division.

Kennedy (Omaha, Neb.) graduated from NWU with a 3.66 GPA as an Athletic Training major. She was the 2011 GPAC Softball Player-of-the-Year this season hitting .431 with 10 doubles, five triples, two home runs and 30 RBI. She ended the season ranked first in the GPAC in batting average and triples. Kennedy’s average of .431 was the fifth highest in NWU history.

Kennedy ended her standout four-year career with her name on the NWU all-time charts 17 times. She set the school record for career RBI (105) and was second in career doubles (33). She had 150 career hits to rank fourth all-time.

The Omaha Burke H.S., graduate becomes the first Nebraska Wesleyan softball player to be an Academic All-American® since 1996 and only the fifth in school history. .

Nebraska Wesleyan University now has 108 Academic All-America® awards. NWU currently ranks tied for 13th, with The Ohio State University, among all schools at all levels of competition for its number of Academic All-Americans and has the most Academic All-America® awards in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC).

Student-athletes must meet four criteria to earn Capital One Academic All- America® honors: 1) must have a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or better, 2) must have at least two terms of attendance at the institution, 3) must be at least a sophomore in athletic eligibility, 4) must be a starter or key reserve in their respective sport.