May 10, 2006
Oklahoma City, Okla. - Three Missouri softball players were named to the All-Big 12 team and eight received Academic All-Big 12 recognition at the league's annual pre-championship banquet held at the Sheraton hotel in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Sophomore pitcher Jen Bruck (St. Peters, Mo.) and redshirt sophomore Micaela Minner (Sanger, Texas) were recognized as two of 19 members on the All-Big 12 first team, while sophomore first baseman and designated player Amanda Renth (Mascoutah, Ill.) received her second consecutive nod to the All-Big 12 second team. The first-team recognition was a first for both Bruck and Minner, although Minner received second team honors last season. Entering the Big 12 Championships, Bruck owns the highest league batting average (.471) against conference opponents.
Academically, seven Tigers were named to the Academic All-Big 12 first team and one, sophomore second baseman Sarah Stringer (Auxvasse, Mo.), was named to the second team. Seniors Joanne Loethen (St. Thomas, Mo.) and Janessa Roening (Port Angeles, Wash.), juniors Leanne Bowers (Arnold, Mo.), Alli Kennewell (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Kathy Masterson (St. Louis, Mo.) along with All-Big 12 team members Minner and Renth recorded a 3.20 grade-point average or higher. Masterson, a civil engineering major, was one of only two league softball players to earn a perfect 4.0. Altogether, 59 Big 12 softball players combined to make up the 2006 All-Academic team.
To qualify for the Academic All-Big 12 team, student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 60 percent of her team's scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are also eligible.
The Missouri softball team will begin its run for the Big 12 Championship title tonight at 5 p.m. (CST) against 10th-seeded Texas Tech on field four of ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla.