University of Albany's Nicole Kothe and Gina Mason Garner America East Softball All-Academic Team Laurels

Cambridge, Mass. - University at Albany's Nicole Kothe and Gina Mason were named to the America East Conference All-Academic Softball Team, as announced on Wednesday, June 2 by the conference office. Both student-athletes, who are members of the America East Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll and the UAlbany Athletic Director's Honor Roll, helped the Great Danes advance to the America East Tournament for the ninth season in a row.

Kothe, a senior psychology major and four-year starting outfielder who graduated with a 3.67 cumulative grade point average, is making her second consecutive appearance on the America East all-academic squad. A three-time NFCA Academic Scholar-Athlete, Kothe made the 2009 and 2010 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District second team. She carried minors in sociology and education and served on the school's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). A native of Middletown, N.Y., Kothe posted a career batting average of .240 with 113 hits, 50 RBIs, six homers and 72 runs scored. Defensively, she registered a .964 fielding percentage by committing just seven errors in four years.

Mason, a junior first baseman from Sacramento, Calif., has a 3.37 GPA as a journalism major with a minor in communication. She has been a three-year starter at first base and has not missed a start in the last two seasons. An NFCA Scholar-Athlete, Mason was named to the All-America East first team this spring after making the all-conference second team in 2009 and the league's all-rookie squad in 2008. She led the Great Danes in several offensive categories this season, including batting average (.342), home runs (8), RBIs (30), hits (40), runs scored (24), slugging percentage (.607) and on-base percentage (.444). Mason enters her senior campaign ranked on several of the program's top-10 lists, including fourth in career home runs (21), tied for fifth in RBIs (100) and tied for eighth in doubles (25).

To be nominated for the distinction, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve for their team and participate in at least 50 percent of their team's games or competitions. In the classroom, student-athletes must have a 3.30 GPA and have completed at least one calendar year at their institution.

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information