Stephanie Geer Named Academic All-American

BROCKPORT, NY (05/26/2011)(readMedia)-- One of the hardest issues for any student-athlete is finding the perfect balance between studying and improving in their sport.

For senior Stephanie Geer (Binghamton, NY/Seton Catholic), she found the perfect balance between success on the field and in the classroom, and after another stellar year academically and on the softball diamond, Geer's tremendous hard work was honored with a spot on the College Division of the Capital One Academic All-American softball team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Geer, a chemistry major with an ACS certification major and an economics minor, carried a 3.91 grade-point average while earning first-team All-State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) honors as Brockport's ace starting pitcher.

"It really felt good to show that all my hard work really did pay off," said Geer, who will pursue her Master's degree in food science from Cornell University beginning in August.

"I worked really hard to balance my academics and my athletics, and to earn Academic All-American, this huge national award, it feels really special. This is a great way to end my Brockport career."

Earlier this spring, Geer was awarded Brockport's Female Scholar Athlete of the Year, made first-team All District 1 according to Capital One/CoSIDA, and was the recipient of the School of Science and Mathematics Undergraduate Award. She was also a finalist for the prestigious President's Citation Award, the highest academic honor a Brockport graduating senior can receive. Geer was also one of the four SUNY Chancellor's Award of Excellence recipients, and she's been heavily involved in Brockport's community service activities.

With Geer's chemistry major came an intense class schedule that often included four hour labs, something that often conflicted with softball practice. But Brockport head coach John Dumaw and Geer worked out a schedule that allowed Geer to attend her classes while not missing a beat on the diamond.

"That's the biggest award that she can get and I'm really proud of Stephanie," said Dumaw, Brockport's 13th year softball coach.

"She's the best that there is on the field and in the classroom. Her classes meant as much to her as softball. I'm not sure how she balanced all of it, but she's been a great captain, the best that she could be for us, and she always led by example. All of the other kids want to be just like Stephanie. She did a great job for us."

On the diamond, Geer led Brockport's softball team to a 22-15-1 record, including eight straight wins to start the year. The pitcher, a four-time All-State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) selection, posted a 15-5 mark with six shutouts and 18 complete games. Geer sported a 1.35 earned-run average and threw 138 strikeouts in 140 innings of work.

For her Brockport career, Geer finished with a 59-21 record, 76 complete games, 25 shutouts and a 1.58 ERA.

Geer moved into second-place all-time on Brockport's career strikeout list with 568 strikeouts. She trailed only Kristen Clark-Schuth, who struck out 639 during her career from 2000-03.

This spring, Geer earned her second Academic All-District honor, as she was named to the second-team as a junior. With such honors as the Distinguished Scholar Scholarship, the Chancellor's Scholar Athlete award, the Davison Distinguished Scholar in Residence award, and the All-Academic List for the SUNYAC, Geer stands out as an accomplished student and community leader.

"I was a little surprised that I won, only because I know this is a very competitive award, and lots of qualified student-athletes were up for it," said Geer, who plans to study the research and development of food while in Cornell's two-year Master's program.

"Part of why I think I won the award is that I have a hard major and I had to study really hard to keep my grades up. But I also have a good balance between academics and athletics, so it was the best of both worlds. That balance showed that I'm not just good in school, that I did really well on the softball diamond, too."

She becomes the 10th Golden Eagle in the history of the Academic All-American program to win the award, and just the fifth to earn first-team Academic All-American. The rest of Brockport's Academic All-American recipients: Rikki Cannioto was a third-team pick in softball and a second-team selection in volleyball in 1991; Kelly Ellis was third-team for softball in 1992; Ben Drake was named third-team for basketball in 1994; Tom Massey earned first-team for football in both 1997 and 1998; Grace Robbins was named first-team for softball in 1997; Rebecca Tucker was named first-team for Women's At-Large in 1998; and Molly Rock was named third-team for softball in 1999.

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve player, must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings and be nominated by his or her sports information director.

Capital One, an NCAA Corporate Champion, began its affiliation with college sports with the sponsorship of the 2001 Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl (now the Capital One Bowl) and ESPN's Capital One Bowl Week. In 2010, Capital One launched the Capital One Cup, a prestigious new program rewarding NCAA Division I athletics programs for their cumulative on-field performance across multiple men's and women's sports. In addition, Capital One sponsors the ABC College Football Halftime Report, Capital One All-America Mascot Team, all 88 NCAA Championships including the Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Championships, and numerous other collegiate athletics programs.