AUSTIN, Texas --- Moravian College junior catcher Janae Matos has been selected to the 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-America NCAA Division III Softball Third Team selected by the College Sports Information Director of America.
To be eligible for Academic All-America® accolades, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.30 grade-point average, be a sophomore, junior or senior and be a starter or significant reserve. Beginning in 2011-12, the program is made up of four levels – NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and College Division (NAIA, Canadian colleges and junior colleges). Matos was on the All-District IV First Team to advance to the national ballot, and District IV in NCAA Division III is made up of schools from Pennsylvania. Matos is Moravian's 46th Academic All-American® and fourth softball student-athlete joining Amy Croll, who was on the Third Team in 1997, Zan Azzolino, who was on the Third Team in 2000, and Heather Bortz, who was on the Third Team in 2004 and the First Team in 2005.
"Janae not only has a tremendous work ethic on the field, she puts the same effort in the classroom which is evident by being named an Academic All-American," stated Head Coach John Byrne. "Janae is a leader on campus as a two-year president of SAAC, and she is a role model for student-athletes not only in our softball program, but across campus as well. We're very happy to have Janae for one more season and excited to see what her future holds."
Matos adds to a growing list of honors for the 2017 season that has seen her named as the 2017 Landmark Conference Player of the Year, the 2017 ECAC Division III Metro Player of the Year, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Atlantic Region First Team, the Landmark All-Conference First Team for a second straight spring and the ECAC Division III Metro All-Star First Team. She also helped the No. 14 Greyhounds to a 36-6 record this spring and the team's 23rd consecutive postseason berth as Moravian clinched the top seed in the 2017 Landmark Conference Tournament.
Matos led the Greyhounds at the plate with a .523 average that included 56 hits, 23 runs, a school-record 22 doubles, three home runs, 45 RBIs, 24 walks including four intentional base on balls, a .621 on-base percentage and an .813 slugging percentage. Matos recorded a team-high 203 putouts behind the plate to go with 13 assists. Matos became the 44th member of Moravian's 100-hit club in April.
Off of the field, Matos is majoring in Psychology and Sociology, and she has a 3.34 GPA. She is a three-year member of Moravian's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and has been president for two years. Matos is also a member of the Psychology Club, the Sociology Club and the Spanish Club at Moravian, and she has been named to the Landmark Conference Spring Academic Honor Roll the last two years.
To view the entire 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-America Division III Softball Teams, visit http://cosida.com/news/2017/5/23/AAA_0523172719.aspx.