May 6, 2010

LOS ANGELES - LMU junior Jennifer Nayudu has been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team, it was announced Thursday. Nayudu was awarded the honor as the designated player position and is one of seven players from the Pacific Coast Softball Conference to be honored.

It has been an award-winning month for Nayudu (Carlsbad, Calif.), is majoring in Business Administration and carries a 3.81 grade-point-average. On April 26, she was named the LMU Female Most Improved Athlete of the Year at the 5th Annual Iggy Awards. Nayudu, who entered the year with a career batting average of .233, is currently hitting .337 in 2010, including posting a .348 average during PCSC play. As the team's #9 hitter, she is tied for the team lead with three three-hit games this year and has eight games of at least two hits. Off the field, she was named to the 2009 PCSC Commissioner's Honor Roll and is a National Scholar Athlete.

This is the first time that Nayudu has been named to the All-District Team and she was the only PCSC player chosen to the first team in District 8, which includes schools located in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Oregon. Jennifer Ellenbeck of San Diego, Megan Smith of Santa Clara, and Cherylyn McGraw were the other PCSC representatives in District 8, making the second team, while Erin Wilkinson, Jessica McNabb, and Jessica Schoepflin of Northern Colorado were all recognized in District 7.

Nayudu and the Lions (22-22, 9-7 PCSC) close out the regular season with a four-game home series this weekend against Sacramento State. The Lions and Hornets will play a doubleheader Saturday at 2 p.m. and another doubleheader Sunday at 1 p.m.