USI senior outfielder Kathy Wood (Lynnville, Indiana) was named the GLVC Scholar Athlete of the Year for softball in a vote of the league's faculty athletic representatives. Wood is the first USI softball player to earn the honor.

Wood, who was named ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District V for a third time last month and Academic All-GLVC for a fourth time earlier this month, graduated from USI with a 3.96 grade point average in exercise science in May and will be entering graduate school at Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis this fall.

The native of Lynnville, Indiana, finished this past season with a .373 batting average, a career-high six doubles, a GLVC-best seven triples, and 14 RBIs. Wood also was second in the GLVC with 16 sacrifice bunts and led the GLVC in conference-only games with a .440 batting average.

A three-time All-GLVC selection, including a first-team All-Conference selection in 2008, Wood earned first-team Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-Great Lakes Region honors as well as second-team Daktronics All-Great Lakes Region honors this past spring. She also was USI's Screaming Eagles Pride Award winner in 2008.

Since 1998, the GLVC selects one student-athlete in each conference sport to be designated the Scholar-Athlete of the Year. This award is based upon athletic accomplishments, both team and individual, and academic performance in the season upon which the award is based. Each conference member has the opportunity to nominate one individual from its team for the award. Nominees must have a cumulative grade point average which meets Academic All-American standards (3.2), and freshmen and first-year transfers are not eligible for the award.

Wood is the 14th USI student athlete to receive the honor with six earning the award twice.

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