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Raider athletes named Academic All-Americans

Tuesday, Jul 20, 2010
Kendall Litton Jensen

Natalie Beach

Amanda Edelman

Seminole State College of Florida student-athletes continue to set records for their work inside the classroom.

Raider softball players Natalie Beach and Amanda Edelman have been named Academic All-Americans by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). In addition, 20 student-athletes were recognized with all-conference or all-state academic honors.

Beach, a shortstop out of Ridgeview High School in Middleburg, was named a Distinguished Academic All-American — the NJCAA's top scholastic honor — after finishing the 2009-10 academic year with a 3.82 GPA. She received the same designation in 2009.

Edelman, a middle infielder out of Seminole High School, closed out the school year with a 3.62 GPA.

Beach graduated from Seminole State in May with summa cum laude honors. She will continue her academic and athletic careers at Florida Institute of Technology.

Edelman, a magna cum laude graduate, will continue her studies at the University of Central Florida, where she will pursue a bachelor's degree in nursing.

Both athletes have also been named to the Mid-Florida Conference's (MFC) and the Florida Community College Activities Association's (FCCAA) All-Academic teams. In May, Beach was named the MFC Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Several other Seminole State students also were recognized by the MFC and FCCAA for their academic accomplishments. They are:

Baseball

• Doug Freeman: MFC and FCCAA All-Academic
• Alex Hudak: MFC and FCCAA All-Academic
• Jacob Knott: MFC and FCCAA All-Academic

Women's Golf

• Fabys Barreto: MFC and FCCAA All-Academic
• Kristin Galek: MFC All-Academic
• Kalin Merkley: MFC All-Academic
• Heather Pearson: MFC and FCCAA All-Academic
• Breanna White: MFC and FCCAA All-Academic
• Jessica Wolchick: MFC and FCCAA All-Academic

Softball

• Christina Baranet: MFC All-Academic
• Hope Bitzer: MFC and FCCAA All-Academic
• Angela Dees: MFC and FCCAA All-Academic
• Kayla Duncan: MFC and FCCAA All-Academic
• Kelly Karshner: MFC and FCCAA All-Academic
• Lauren Miller: MFC All-Academic
• Chasity Moore: MFC and FCCAA All-Academic
• Coryn Novak: MFC and FCCAA All-Academic
• Tiffany Ragans: MFC and FCCAA All-Academic
• Erica Tollet: MFC and FCCAA All-Academic
• Tara Turner: MFC and FCCAA All-Academic

To earn MFC All-Academic recognition, student-athletes must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. To earn FCCAA All-Academic recognition, they must have a 3.3 GPA or higher.

NJCAA Academic All-Americans must be of sophomore standing and have a minimum GPA of 3.6. Distinguished Academic All-Americans must have a 3.8 GPA or higher.

As a team, Seminole State softball finished the 2009-10 academic year with a 3.24 GPA, the 26th highest GPA of any NJCAA softball program.

For more information, please visit the Raider athletics home page.