Lovelace and Castor Receive Academic All-District Recognition
 UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor softball team members Alex Lovelace and Hannah Castor have both been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District II First-Team, as voted on and announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
The award is designed to recognize student-athletes for outstanding achievements in the classroom, as well as on the field of play. In order to be eligible for the honor, an athlete must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.30 or higher on a 4.0 scale, have reached sophomore status academically with one full year at the current institution of enrollment and must have participated in over half of the team’s competitions during the current season.
Lovelace earned the honor as an outfielder by posting a 3.39 GPA as a finance major at Taylor. The senior lead-off hitter has played in 46 of Taylor’s 54 contests in 2017, leading the team at the plate in batting average (.423), on-base percentage (.461), hits (69) and runs (48), while notching a .974 fielding percentage in center field and stealing 12 bases for the Purple and Gold.
Castor, a North Vernon, Indiana native, netted the award with a 3.65 GPA in biology at Taylor. On the diamond, the sophomore has played in 50 of TU’s 54 games this season, splitting time between designated player and right field for the Trojans, while batting .374 with 64 hits, 31 runs, 15 doubles and a team-leading 50 RBI.
Lovelace and Castor’s honors increase Taylor’s total number of student-athletes to receive Academic All-District recognition during the 2016-2017 school year to 15.
The duo will now be placed on the national ballot for the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team, which will be voted on and announced on May 22.