Lady Bearcat senior Ashley Whipkey has been named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District team for the 2009 season.

Whipkey, a native of Dunbar, PA, was one of just three pitchers named Second Team All-District II.  It is the second honor in three days for Whipkey, as earlier this week, she was one of three Lady Bearcats to earn Presidents' Athletic Conference Coaches Honors, the equivalent of all-conference status for athletes from schools, like Saint Vincent, that are provisional members of NCAA Division-III.

For the season, she went 7-2 in the circle with a 2.28 ERA, striking out 40 batters in 59 innings.  She hurled two shutouts, and completed all eight games that she started.  Opponents hit just .235 off of her, and she issued only six walks. 

She's also been solid throughout her career in the classroom, carrying a 3.94 grade point average, majoring in Elementary Instruction.

First-team selections to the Academic All-District squads are now eligible for the ESPN the Magazine/College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-America team.

Whipkey is the first Lady Bearcat softball player to receive the honor, and is the first Saint Vincent athlete to be honored since volleyball player and 2007 graduate Emily Ecoff.

The Academic All-District teams are part of the