JUNE 8, 2004
BOB ZIADIEKING'S ZANGARDI NAMED FIRST-TEAM CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
(After being named a softball all-American, Zangardi earns academic All-American honors)
WILKES-BARRE -- Two weeks ago, King's College softball standout Maria Zangardi was honored with second-team Division III All-American honors as a player. On Tuesday, Zangardi was honored nationally for her academic prowess when she was named a first-team College Sports Information Director's of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-American.
She was one of just 11 players nationwide from NCAA Division II and III, as well as NAIA colleges and universities named to the first team.
Zangardi graduated from King's in May with a 3.98 overall grade-point average as a double major in Mass Communications/Media Technologies and Spanish.
She earned numerous academic awards at King's, including being named to the Alpha Mu Gamma National Foreign Language, King’s Aquinas, Phi Sigma Tau Philosophy, and Delta Epsilon Sigma honor societies. Zangardi was named the co-winner of the 2004 Murgas Award, the highest honor presented within the Mass Communications/Media Technologies Department at King's. She was also named to King's Dean's List all eight semesters.
Her community service activities include working as a volunteer with the Red Cross and at the Junior Achievement Bowl-A-Thon, while serving as a King’s College Admissions Tour Guide and Open House volunteer. Zangardi has also worked part-time as a sports correspondent for the Citizen’s Voice Newspaper and completed an internship with WNEP-TV 16.
Zangardi was a two-time CoSIDA District 2 All-Academic choice. She was also named the Middle Atlantic Corporation Spring Sports Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
On the field, Zangardi led King's softball team to a school-record 39-10 mark along with fourth straight MAC Freedom Conference championships and NCAA national tournament berths. On the year, she batted .403 (71-176) with eight home runs, 18 doubles, six triples, 43 RBI and scored 41 runs. She had a .710 slugging percentage and a .992 fielding percentage while playing first base. Zangardi concluded her King's career with a school-record 217 base hits.
She was also named to the 2004 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships All-Tournament Team and was selected as an NFCA East Regional All-American for the third time in her career.
"We are very proud of Maria and all she has accomplished both on the field and off," said King's sports information director Bob Ziadie, who nominated Zangardi for the award. "This award is a true testament to Maria's work ethic and her desire to reach her full potential in anything she puts her mind to. She is an outstanding student, a superb player, and an even better person. It has been our good fortune at King's to have Maria here for four years."
The 2004 CoSIDA Academic All-American Softball Team is as follows:
2004 CoSIDA Academic All-American Team
Name School Yr. GPA Major
Liz Coburn Linfield (OR) Sr. 3.89 Communications
Christy Deken Missouri-Rolla Sr. 3.73 Elec. Engineering
Amy Edge Saint Mary’s Jr. 3.95 Biology/P. Therap
Haley Allen Carson-Newman Sr. 3.97 Accounting
Kassie Long Central Missouri Sr. 4.00 Early Childhood
Liz Swary Washington (MO) Jr. 3.95 Economics
Maria Zangardi King’s Sr. 3.98 Comm./Spanish
Jenny Esker S.I. Edwardsville Sr. 3.99 Physics
Molly Gale Gettysburg Jr. 4.00 History
Lori Scheetz Dickinson Sr. 3.95 Political Science
Shannon Rasmussen Eastern Oregon Jr. 3.73 Psychology
King's College
133 North River Street Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711
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Questions or comments to: Bob Ziadie, King's College Sports Information Director
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