May 31, 2007

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Postseason accolades rolled in for Atlantic Coast Conference softball as six student-athletes were selected to the 2007 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-America Teams. The league placed at least one student-athlete on each of the three teams, with Virginia Tech's pitching sensation Angela Tincher and Georgia Tech's Caitlin Lever headlining as first-team picks.

Shortstop Amber Jackson of Maryland was the lone ACC member on the second team, while Florida State's Veronica Wootson (2B), Georgia Tech's Aileen Morales (SS) and NC State's Abbie Sims (UT/P) completed the contingent as third-team members.

To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.

2007 Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-Americans

First Team
Angela Tincher (p)............... Virginia Tech
Caitlin Lever (at-large/of).....Georgia Tech

Second Team
Amber Jackson (ss).......... Maryland

Third Team
Veronica Wootson (2b)............Florida State
Abbie Sims (ut/p).................... NC State
Aileen Morales (ss)................ Georgia Tech

Tincher named first-team All-American by NFCA

BLACKSBURG - The awards keep rolling in for Virginia Tech pitcher Angela Tincher with Wednesday producing two more big ones. Hours after being named a first-team Academic All-American, Tincher was named a 2007 Louisville Slugger/NFCA NCAA first-team All-American as a pitcher.

She was the first Hokie softball player to be named an All-American when she made the second team last year and now becomes the first two-time All-American and the first to make the first team in the program's 12-year history. The honor adds to her growing list of awards for her stellar season. Thus far, she has been named or honored with the following:

Jackets' Lever and Morales Garner All-America Honors

ATLANTA - Georgia Tech softball standouts Caitlin Lever and Aileen Morales were selected to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America teams, announced on Wednesday afternoon. It is the first time in Yellow Jacket history that two players earn All-America honors in the same season.

Lever, a senior outfielder from Amherst, N.Y., won her first Atlantic Coast Conference batting title with a .452 average. She set a new Tech single-season record with 94 hits, third-best in ACC history. She also led the league with 20 doubles and 155 total bases (2nd best in ACC history). Lever becomes just the second Yellow Jacket to ever earn first team honors (Laura Williams - 1997).

Amber Jackson Selected as NFCA All-American

COLLEGE PARK, MD. - Maryland shortstop Amber Jackson was named a Second-Team All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association on Wednesday, giving her yet another accolade to add to her incredible career. In four seasons at the Division I level, she was an All-America selection every year.

In three years at Bethune-Cookman, the senior was named an Easton All-American twice, in 2003 and 2004, and made the NFCA first-team in 2005. This season, her lone year as a Terrapin, she was also named first-team All-ACC and first-team All-Region by the NFCA.

FSU Softball's Wootson Caps Historic Career With Third NFCA All-America Award

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - With each award she receives, Florida State softball player Veronica Wootson keeps moving herself higher and higher into the Seminole stratosphere. However, her most recent and perhaps final honor puts the second baseman in the pantheon of Florida State softball. Wootson became just the second player in school history to earn a trio of NFCA All-America honors with her Third-Team selection as announced by the coaching association on Wednesday (May 30).

Wootson (Fontana, Calif.) was the first FSU freshman to earn All-America accolades in 2004 with her Second-Team honor and last season she garnered a First-Team award. Prior to Wootson, the only player in school or ACC history to earn three All-America awards was outfielder Shamalene Wilson (1994-96).

Sims Named Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-America

RALEIGH, N.C. - Recent NC State graduate and Wolfpack softball cornerstone Abbie Sims has been named a 2007 Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-America as announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) on Wednesday, May 30. Sims was selected to the third-team in the pitcher/utility player position. The accolade marks the first such award in State's brief four-year program history that a player has been named an All-America for on-field performance.

A complete list of all three All-America teams can be found here, while an accompanying video can be viewed at this location.