Allison earns Verizon Academic All-America honor

Missouri Southern’s Jana Allison (Lebanon, Mo.) has added another piece of hardware to her growing collection. In 2002-03, the senior softball player has been picked for numerous academic and athletic honors, ranging from all-conference to being named Missouri Southern’s outstanding student-athlete.

The latest came on Thursday (May 29), as Allison was named a second-team Verizon Academic All-America, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Allison graduated summa cum laude earlier this month with a bachelor’s degree in biology/pre-medicine. She held a 3.938 GPA entering the spring 2003 semester and was named to the Verizon Academic All-District VII First-Team after the most recent softball season concluded.

On the field, Allison batted .253 and started all 48 games for the Lady Lions in 2003. She stroked a team-high 13 doubles and finished second on the team with 20 RBI. A would-be everyday centerfielder, she also served this season as Southern’s No. 2 pitcher. In that role, Allison went 10-10 with a 2.54 ERA in 151.2 innings pitched.

Following the 2003 campaign, Allison was named a second-team All-MIAA utility player and was named to the MIAA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll for the third time in her career. She also collected the E.O. & Virginia Humphrey Award as Missouri Southern’s outstanding student-athlete and was a nominee for the MIAA’s Ken B. Jones Award, which goes to the conference’s student-athlete of the year.

She’s also a three-time member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Academic Team, which has yet to be announced for 2003.

In April, she was named a recipient of the Spencer-Bartlett Award, which goes to the outstanding graduate(s) of Missouri Southern.

The Lady Lions softball team finished the 2003 season with a 23-25 record, including 8-10 in the MIAA. Under first-year head coach Jennifer Jimerson, the team made its 14th consecutive appearance in the conference’s postseason tournament and set school records for fielding percentage (.970) and fewest errors in a season (46).

Allison is the first Southern softball player picked for Verizon Academic All-America accolades since Jimerson, who played for Southern from 1995-98, was a third-team GTE (now Verizon) Academic All-America in 1998.


	May 29, 2003 Allison earns Verizon Academic All-America honor

	Missouri Southern’s Jana Allison (Lebanon, Mo.) has added another piece of hardware to her growing collection. In 2002-03, the senior softball player has been picked for numerous academic and athletic honors, ranging from all-conference to being named Missouri Southern’s outstanding student-athlete. The latest came on Thursday (May 29), as Allison was named a second-team Verizon Academic All-America, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Allison graduated summa cum laude earlier this month with a bachelor’s degree in biology/pre-medicine. She held a 3.938 GPA entering the spring 2003 semester and was named to the Verizon Academic All-District VII First-Team after the most recent softball season concluded. On the field, Allison batted .253 and started all 48 games for the Lady Lions in 2003. She stroked a team-high 13 doubles and finished second on the team with 20 RBI. A would-be everyday centerfielder, she also served this season as Southern’s No. 2 pitcher. In that role, Allison went 10-10 with a 2.54 ERA in 151.2 innings pitched. Following the 2003 campaign, Allison was named a second-team All-MIAA utility player and was named to the MIAA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll for the third time in her career. She also collected the E.O. & Virginia Humphrey Award as Missouri Southern’s outstanding student-athlete and was a nominee for the MIAA’s Ken B. Jones Award, which goes to the conference’s student-athlete of the year. She’s also a three-time member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Academic Team, which has yet to be announced for 2003. In April, she was named a recipient of the Spencer-Bartlett Award, which goes to the outstanding graduate(s) of Missouri Southern. The Lady Lions softball team finished the 2003 season with a 23-25 record, including 8-10 in the MIAA. Under first-year head coach Jennifer Jimerson, the team made its 14th consecutive appearance in the conference’s postseason tournament and set school records for fielding percentage (.970) and fewest errors in a season (46). Allison is the first Southern softball player picked for Verizon Academic All-America accolades since Jimerson, who played for Southern from 1995-98, was a third-team GTE (now Verizon) Academic All-America in 1998.