May 12, 2008

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Senior catcher Ericka Hansen was named to the 2008 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District 8 Softball it was announced on Friday. The San Clemente, Calif. native was named to the First Team for players from the Western Region consisting of athletes from schools in California, Arizona, Hawai'i, Utah, Nevada, Washington, and Oregon.

The award is the first step in the process of being named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America Team. Hansen, who is majoring in business economics, has posted a 3.59 GPA at UCSB. The Academic All-America Team will be announced sometime next week by CoSIDA.

Hansen is already a two-time Big West Academic All-Conference honoree and has won the last two UC Santa Barbara Athletics Department Golden Eagle awards for softball, after posting the highest GPA amongst the upperclassman on her team.

Not just a standout in the classroom, Hansen had the best year of her career in 2008. The senior batted a career-high .294 in her 36 games played while tallying 14 runs, six home runs, and 16 RBI. In Big West Conference games, she hit .327 with a .435 on-base percentage and 11 RBI.

The 2008 Gauchos finished the season with a 30-24 overall record, marking just the fifth 30-win season in program history and the second consecutive. They posted a Big West record of 13-8, good for second place, their best finish since 2004 when they tied Cal State Northridge for second with a 14-7 record.