CAPITAL ONE/CoSIDA RELEASE

AUSTIN, Texas – Senior Ali Maloof (Norwood, Mass.) and junior Mo Hannan (Scarborough, Maine) of the Southern New Hampshire University softball team were named to the 2015 Capital One Academic All-America Division II Softball Team that was announced Thursday.  The pair were each Third Team selections.

The Capital One Academic All-America and All-District Teams are selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).  The program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II national governance structure to assist CoSIDA with awards fulfillment in 2014-15.  To be eligible for Academic All-District and Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher and reached sophomore athletic and academic standing.

Hannan and Maloof become the second and third Penmen softball student-athletes to be named Academic All-Americans, as outfielder Judy Crawford earned the honor in 1986.  A total of 19 SNHU student-athletes have earned Capital One Academic All-America honors, including five in 2014-15, accounting for 22 total selections.

Maloof, a Psychology major, earned Daktronics/D2CCA First Team All-America honors in 2015, becoming the first Penmen softball player to earn First Team All-America accolades.  The Daktronics East Region Player and Pitcher of the Year and a consensus First Team All-Region selection, finished 24-4 in the circle with a 1.38 earned run average in 28 appearances, striking out 207 while walking just 41.  At the plate, she batted .393 with four home runs and 24 runs batted in.  A three-time Northeast-10 Pitcher of the Year, Maloof earned both NE-10 Player and Pitcher of the Year honors in 2015.

Hannan, a consensus First Team All-Region selection as well as an NE-10 First Team selection in the outfield, batted .391 with three home runs and 24 RBI while scoring a team-best 38 runs as SNHU's leadoff hitter.   An Economics/Finance major, Hannan had a team-high .443 on-base percentage and owned a .576 slugging percentage, good for second on the team.  In the field, she committed just two errors in 50 chances and had a pair of outfield assists.

The SNHU softball program enjoyed its best season in program history, setting a program record for wins in a season by finishing 35-9.  The Penmen captured their third straight NE-10 Northeast Division title and second straight NE-10 tournament title, while also advancing to the NCAA East Super Regional for the first time in program history.

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