Lindsay Gurska of Revere, Mass., Named Academic All-District by CoSIDA Membership

2016 May 6

Lindsay Gurska has been named Academic All-District I by the members of CoSIDA.

Juniors Lindsay Gurska and Caroline Medino, as well as sophomore Ama Biney have been named to the 2016 Academic All-District Softball Team as selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) in District I.

Gurska paces the NEWMAC with 44 RBI and is second in total bases (88) and a top 10 performer in nine more offensive categories. Behind the dish, the biology & biotechnology major touts a .996 fielding percentage (255-of-266), including 12 assists. The two-time NEWMAC Player of the week has earned Dean's List and NEWMAC All-Academic laurels in addition to being a Charles O. Thompson Scholar as a freshman. Her IQP involves controlling biofueling for U.S. Coast Guard in Puerto Rico. Gurska was recently presented with the department's female Poly Club Award and the 2016 Bonnie-Blanche Schoonover Award given to one or more outstanding junior women students preparing for a career in engineering and science who have played a significant role at WPI.

Medino, a chemical engineering major, sports a 5-2 record with four saves and a 2.68 ERA in a team-leading 22 appearances. She has struck out 33 and walked only five in 52 1/3 for the Crimson and Gray in 2016. The Dean's List and NEWMAC All-Academic honoree compiled additional detailed information about domestic violence in Australia for her IQP. Medino is also a member of the Alpha Phi sorority and American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Biney, a management engineering major who earned the women's basketball version of the accolade this winter, is on the 2016 NFCA Division III Player of the Year watch list. She leads the NEWMAC with 49 runs and is second in doubles (15), hit by pitch (seven), stolen bases (26) in addition to nine more top 10 appearances and a perfect fielding percentage in 56 chances. The NEWMAC Women's Basketball All-Conference First Team member hit .645 with two home runs, four doubles and two triples en route to NEWMAC Player of the Week honors after joining softball about to depart for Florida after playing in NCAA tournament the day before. Biney followed up her 2015 Coaches Award with the 2016 Carolyn McCabe Award at the annual department banquet.

District I is comprised of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Nominees must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) at his/her current institution, must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's games at the position listed on the nomination form (where applicable). In baseball and softball, pitchers must have at least 10.0 innings pitched. No student-athlete is eligible until he/she has completed one full calendar year at his/her current institution and has reached sophomore athletic eligibility. In the cases of transfers, graduate students and two-year college graduates, the student-athlete must have completed one full calendar year at the nominating institution to be eligible.

About Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Founded in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI is one of the nation's first engineering and technology universities. Its 14 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. WPI's talented faculty work with students on interdisciplinary research that seeks solutions to important and socially relevant problems in fields as diverse as the life sciences and bioengineering, energy, information security, materials processing, and robotics. Students also have the opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations around the world through the university's innovative Global Projects Program. There are more than 45 WPI project centers throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.