AUSTIN, Texas — Guilford College senior Laura Hall (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) NCAA Division III Academic All-America® Softball Team, the organization announced Tuesday. A second-team honoree, Hall is the Quakers’ 10th CoSIDA Academic All-America® selection in school history and first softball student-athlete so honored.
The CoSIDA Academic All-America® squads are comprised of 33 softball students from Division III institutions across the country. Nominees were starters or key reserves of sophomore academic standing or above who maintained at least a 3.3 grade point average. This year’s three teams feature 20 students with a 3.90 cumulative grade point average (GPA) or higher, including eight with a perfect 4.0.
Hall recently concluded her fourth and final campaign as a Third-Team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) selection. The four-year starting outfielder played in 38 games and set career highs in batting average (.365), stolen bases (20), runs batted in (15), hits (38) and runs scored (28). Hall ranked fifth among ODAC stolen bases leaders and was eighth with a club-best eight sacrifice hits. She stood second on the team in runs, third in batting average, and fourth in on-base percentage (.402). Hall’s 11 multiple-hit games led the Quakers and her eight-game hitting streak was Guilford’s third-longest of the season.
Hall leaves Guilford as the school’s career leader in stolen bases (57), stolen-base attempts (63) and sacrifice bunts (28). She scored 101 runs, third-best at Guilford, and was a .315 career hitter in 148 games, seventh-most in school history. Hall collected seven doubles, two triples and 36 runs batted in (RBI) in her career.
In addition to her athletic accomplishments, Hall made her mark as one of Guilford’s most accomplished students. She graduated May 14 as an elementary education and English major with a 3.91 cumulative GPA, which made her one of 46 Guilford seniors to graduate with high academic honors. Hall was named Guilford’s Outstanding Elementary Education Major for 2015-16 and won the school’s top athletics honor, the Nereus C. English Athletic Leadership Award. She was one of 12 national recipients of the Haier Achievement Award (honorable mention) for her accomplishments in the classroom and community. Hall garnered her second straight ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award this spring and is the first Quakers’ softball student to twice win the award. The aspiring teacher is a four-time Academic All-ODAC honoree and made Guilford’s dean’s list in all eight semesters. She volunteered with AmeriCorps and worked as a student teacher at nearby Guilford Elementary School. One of her academic projects included designing a website for teachers that serves as a guide for multicultural literature.
Hall helped coach Dennis Shores’ Quakers to a 25-18 overall record (8-10 ODAC). Guilford qualified for its third straight ODAC Tournament this year and could return as many as 21 letterwinners from the 2016 club.