The National Collegiate Athletic Association announced on Monday that Gustavus Adolphus senior softball player Rachael Click and senior golfer Kimbra Kosak have been named two of 29 women’s spring sport recipients of a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. Click, a NFCA All-American and MIAC Player of the Year, helped the softball team to a third place finish at the NCAA Championships, while Kosak, the MIAC Senior Player of the Year, helped the golf team to a third place finish at the NCAA Championships. Click and Kosak become the second and third Gustavus student athletes to receive NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships this year joining swimmer Dave Pearson, who was honored in March.
Click, a native of Rochester, Minn., who graduated from Mayo High School, guided the Gusties to the most successful season in the program’s history as the team won the MIAC title with a record of 21-1 and posted a mark of 42-9 overall winning the NCAA Indianola Regional and finishing third at the NCAA Championships. She led the team in virtually every hitting category including batting average (.456), slugging percentage (.934), on-base percentage (.541), hits (62), RBI (53), and home runs (16). Click was the catalyst for Gustavus in the NCAA Tournament as she hit .416 with 10 hits in 24 at-bats (including two home runs and three doubles), scored 12 runs and drove in 10 runs. She was named to the Indianola Regional All-Tournament Team and the NCAA Championship Finals All-Tournament Team. Click was a four-time All-Conference selection and a three-time All-Region honoree. She holds many Gustavus career records including games played (169), home runs (35), runs batted in (179), and slugging percentage (.835). Her career home run total of 35 ranks third all-time in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) history. Click, who was recently named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team, graduated with a 3.91 gpa majoring in elementary education. She is planning to pursue a graduate degree in athletic administration with hopes of becoming a collegiate softball coach and athletic administrator. Rachael is the daughter of Roger and Diane Click of Rochester, Minn.
Kimbra Kosak, a native of Grand Rapids, Minn., who graduated from Grand Rapids Senior High School, finished tied for 27th individually at the 2009 NCAA Division III Women’s Golf Championships in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where she helped the Gusties post a third place team finish. Kosak was a honorable mention All-America honoree in 2007 and 2008 and Midwest All-Region honoree in 2008 and 2009. She received the Division III Kim Moore Spirit Award from the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) in 2008. Kosak was also named the Senior Player of the Year by the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) golf coaches. Kosak, who was recently named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team, graduated with a 3.85 gpa majoring in elementary education. She is planning to pursue a graduate degree in educational administration after teaching at an elementary school for the next couple of years. Kimbra is the daughter of Mary Kosak and the late Jim Kosak of Grand Rapids.
Since the start of the 2004-05 academic year, Gustavus ranks third for the most postgraduate scholars among all NCAA schools (Division I, II, III). Stanford University has the most postgraduate scholars with 29, followed by Emory with 25 and Gustavus with 17. Gustavus has had a total of 27 student athletes receive NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships since football player James Goodwin became the first in 1974. Gustavus is also part of an elite group of eight institutions in Division I, II, and III combined that have had at least one NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winner for five consecutive years. That group includes Gustavus, Stanford, Seattle Pacific, University of Nebraska, Emory, Wingate, University of Florida, and Wartburg.
The NCAA awarded 58 postgraduate scholarships of $7,500 each to 29 male student-athletes and 29 female student-athletes from all three divisions (I, II, and III) who participated in spring sports. Those sports for women included Golf, Lacrosse, Rowing, Softball, Synchronized Swimming, Tennis, Outdoor Track and Field and Water Polo.
To qualify for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must have an overall grade-point average of 3.200 (on a 4.000 scale) or its equivalent and must have performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which the student-athlete was nominated. The student-athlete also must intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a graduate student.