Hill and Mullin Earn Academic All-District Honors

Seniors Molly Hill and Meghan Mullin were both named to the 2008-09 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VII softball first team, released on Thursday by the College of Sports Information Directors of America.

Hill earned a spot on the first team for the third consecutive season, while Mullin was an academic all-district selection for the first time in her career. Both student-athletes now advance to the national ballot for consideration as a CoSIDA Academic All-American. The Husker softball program leads the nation with 25 all-time CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, including Hill, who was a third-team selection last year. Overall, Nebraska leads all colleges and universities in the country with 268 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.

A native of Wayne, Neb., Hill has been dominant on the field and in the classroom this season. She is 24-12 on the season with a 1.36 ERA and 177 strikeouts in 237.0 innings. Hill leads the Big 12 in wins, while ranking among the top three in the conference in ERA, strikeouts, innings, appearances, saves, starts and complete games. Off the field, Hill carries a 3.97 cumulative grade-point average in Speech Language Pathology, and she will earn her degree on Saturday.

Mullin, a native of Mesa, Ariz., serves as a tri-captain for the Huskers along with Hill and fellow senior Brittany Pascale. Mullin is a three-time academic All-Big 12 selection and carries a 3.44 GPA as a history major. On the field, Mullin is a returning All-Big 12 selection. She is batting .333 this season while leading the Huskers with 52 hits, 42 runs, 28 walks and 19 stolen bases. Mullin ranks fourth in the Big 12 in walks, fifth in runs scored, sixth in stolen bases and 18th in average.

Hill, Mullin and the rest of the Huskers open postseason play on Saturday, when fifth-seeded Nebraska faces fourth-seeded Texas at 2 p.m. in the opening round of the Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City.