ROCK HILL, SC–Winthrop senior middle hitter Jennifer Pritchard has been selected to the 2002 Verizon Academic All-America University Division Volleyball First Team for her performance in the classroom as well as on the court.

This year’s honor caps a senior season in which Pritchard helped lead the Eagles to a 28-10 record, the school’s first Big South Conference Championship and the first bid to the NCAA tournament. She was also named to the 2001 Verizon third team and is a two-time Big South Conference All-Academic team selection.

The native of Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, has a perfect 4.0 grade point average for her first six semesters while majoring in biology. She plans to attend medical school following graduation.

Only six players are selected on the first team. Joining Pritchard are Lauren Fendrick (UCLA, Senior, Outside Hitter, 3.91 GPA in Cognitive Science and Communications); Britten Follett (Southern Illinois, Senior, Setter, 4.0, Radio and Televsion); Karla Kucerkova (American, Senior, Outside Hitter, 3.98, Business Administration); Laura Pilakowski (Nebraska, Senior, 3.95, Marketing); and Libby Windell (Arkansas, Senior, Middle Blocker, 3.96, Microbiology).

Entering the NCAA first-round match against North Carolina, Pritchard was averaging a .321 hitting percentage with 461 kills and 137 blocks.