Aug. 6, 2009
2009 All-ACC Academic Softball Team
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Georgia Tech senior first baseman Whitney Haller was named the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, announced today by ACC Commissioner John D. Swofford. Haller was one of six Yellow Jackets selected to the All-ACC Academic Softball team, tying Florida State for the most in the league.
Rising sophomore Shannon Bear, rising junior Christy Jones, senior Blair Shimandle, rising sophomore Kelsi Weseman and rising senior Jen Yee joined Haller on the All-ACC Academic team. Haller and Shimandle were each four-time selections.
Haller, a first-team ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-American, had a 3.94 GPA as an Industrial Engineering major. She helped the No. 13 Yellow Jackets to their first-ever Super Regional appearance this year as well as winning both the ACC regular season and tournament title.
The Marietta, Ga., native is the all-time Georgia Tech and ACC leader in both home runs and RBI, while she ranks among the top five on both lists for several other career categories including batting average, slugging percentage, runs scored, hits, doubles and fielding percentage.
Haller was third on the team and fourth in the ACC this year with a .381 batting average. She was also among the ACC leaders with 69 hits (third), 35 runs scored (10th), 10 doubles (eighth), 12 home runs (tied for second), 55 RBI (first), 117 total bases (second), a .646 slugging percentage (fifth) and a .449 on-base percentage (seventh).
Haller was a finalist for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award this year and was also named a first-team All-Senior All-American by Lowe’s. She was a third-team Easton All-American, first-team All-ACC and first-team NFCA All-Southeast Region as well.
This marks the second straight year that the Yellow Jackets have had six members on the All-ACC Academic Team. Georgia Tech and Florida State led with six selections apiece, while Virginia followed with five picks and North Carolina placed four student-athletes on the team. Boston College landed three players, while Maryland, NC State and Virginia Tech each had two apiece. All eight ACC softball teams were represented on the 30-member team.
Eleven members of the All-ACC Academic Softball team, including Haller, were also tabbed All-ACC in 2009 and four individuals have made multiple All-ACC teams. A total of 13 players earned All-ACC Academic accolades for the second consecutive season, six for the third consecutive season. Only Haller and Shimandle were four-time honorees.
To be considered for the All-ACC Academic team, a student-athlete must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 for the most recent semester and for their careers.
