Louisville, KY – Eight Hofstra softball players were named All-America Scholar-Athletes by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
Jessica Peslak, Danielle Bitts, Chloe Fitzgerald, Rachael Senatore, Ashley Ainbinder, Rachel Simodejka, Kim Smith and Becca Bigler all earned the honors for Hofstra. The criteria was posting a 3.5 grade-point average or higher for the 2013-14 academic year.
In all, 4,660 softball players across seven membership divisions earned NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete honors for the 2013-14 academic year. NCAA Division I, with 1,096 honorees, had the most student-athletes make the list.
Bitts, a journalism major, was a 2013 Colonial Athletic Association Commissioner's Academic Award recipient. She is a red-shirt junior entering the 2015 season. Ainbinder concluded a four-year career with a degree in management in 2014. Ainbinder played in 80 career games and was a member of two CAA championship teams. Senatore is currently in graduate school at Hofstra following her final collegiate season in 2014. Senatore earned her bachelor's degree in 2013 and is pursuing her MBA in finance. She was a member of four NCAA Tournament qualifiers.
Fellow fifth-year member Bigler joined Senatore in earning another award from the NFCA. Both players were All-Northeast Region selections by the organization in their careers for their on-field accomplishments. Bigler graduated with a degree in exercise science and is also pursuing her master's degree.
Smith's academic pursuits include legal studies in business. She aspires to attend law school. The junior hit .327 with 32 RBIs. Peslak earned the honor following her first collegiate season is majoring in political science with a minor in philosophy.
Fitzgerald also earned the CAA's Academic Award in her freshman season and followed that up with the NFCA selection following her sophomore year in 2014. Fitzgerald won the CAA batting title with a .370 average and is a psychology major. Fellow outfielder Simodejka sat out her first season with an injury and took a medical red-shirt. She is also a psychology major.
