LOUISVILLE, Ky. – On Thursday afternoon, the Webster University's 2018 softball team earned the National Fast Pitch Coaches Association (NFCA) 2017-18 Easton NCAA Division III All-Academic Team Award. Along with naming Webster as a Team Academic Award winner, six Gorlok players from the 2018 squad were recognized as NFCA All-America Scholar Athletes.
 
With its Easton/NFCA Team Academic Award, Webster has now earned the award for the sixth consecutive season. The Gorloks had the 96th highest GPA in NCAA Division III in 2017-18 at 3.20. Webster was one of two teams from the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to earn the award as the other one was Spalding, who posted 3.462 GPA last school year.

This year, 102 of the 410 Division III playing softball teams qualified for the NFCA Team Academic Award.
 
To be recognized by Easton/NFCA as an All-America Scholar Athlete, players must have attained a 3.5 or higher GPA (on a 4.0 scale) for the school year in which they played. Webster's honorees for 2017-18 were:
 
Sophomore utility player Abby Burroughs (Edwardsville, Ill./Triad) – 3.830 GPA
Senior pitcher Kelsey Donohue (Hazelwood, Mo./Hazelwood West) – 3.500 GPA
Senior infielder Katlyn Garza (O'Fallon, Mo./Fort Zumwalt North) – 3.760 GPA
Senior infielder Tessa Johanning (Sullivan, Mo./Sullivan) – 3.900 GPA
Senior pitcher Morgan Mansur (Decatur, Ill./Lincoln Land CC) – 3.900 GPA
Senior pitcher Chelsea Thornley (Clinton, Mo./Clinton) – 3.860 GPA
 
Burroughs, Donahue, Garza, Johanning, Mansur and Thornley were all honored in 2016-17 as an NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete, while Donahue, Garza and Thornley were honored by the NFCA in 2015-16. 

The NFCA Academic Awards program honors both collegiate and high school teams and individual student-athletes for their submitted team GPA's for the 2017-18 academic year.