St. Peter, Minn. – The 2013 Capital One Academic All-District Softball Teams, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America, have been released to recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. Among the list of individuals receiving Academic All-District honors was senior Kate Rentschler (Lakefield, Minn.) who earns a spot on the District Six First Team as a designated player.
The Academic All-District teams include the student-athletes listed on the following pages and are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. This is the second year of the expanded Academic All-America program as CoSIDA moved from recognizing a University Division (Division I) and a College Division (all non Division I) and has doubled the number of scholar-athletes honored. The expanded teams include NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III participants, while the College Division team combines NAIA, Canadian and two-year schools.
Kate Rentschler capped her Gustavus career with the best hitting season of her tenure wearing black and gold. Rentschler went 30-for-82 for a batting average of .366 this season. She led the team in slugging percentage (.512), runs batted in (17), and doubles (6). Rentschler posted nine multiple-hit games and went 9-for-16 with three runs and four RBI in the MIAC Playoffs.
On the rubber, Rentschler went 5-9 with an ERA of 4.61 this season. She struck out 39 hitters in 79 innings and finished the year with an opponent batting average of .295.
Over the Lakefield, Minn. native’s four-year career, the Gusties have finished second in the conference three times and posted an overall record of 106-55-1 and an MIAC mark of 67-18-1.
Rentschler has played in 112 career games, going 81-for-240 for a lifetime batting average of .338 with 19 doubles, 13 home runs, and 64 runs batted in to her credit. She has thrown 356.1 innings for Head Coach Jeff Annis, recording a career record of 39-21 and an ERA of 3.04. An NFCA All-Scholar Athlete, Rentschler is a two-time captain who has earned Academic All-Conference honors three times. Last season she earned a place on the All-Conference and NFCA All-Region Teams for the first time in her career.
Kate is one of eight total players from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to earn a place on the District Six Academic All-District Team. She joins Kendra Bowe, Emily Gregory, and Kimmy Hassel of St. Thomas, Jenna Brady of St. Catherine, Kaia Sele of Concordia, and Bri Dorale of Augsburg.
A pre-med student majoring in biology, Rentschler carries a cumulative grade point average of 3.61. A TriBeta member, the senior is also a member of the Pre-Med Club while also volunteering for Study Buddies, One-Time Volunteers, and the Special Olympics.
First-team Academic All-District honorees advance to the Capital One Academic All-America Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.