ST. LOUIS – Two student-athletes from the Drake University softball team earned 2016 Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete team accolades, the MVC office announced Monday, May 16. Junior Kaitlyn Finneran (Morrison, Ill.) was picked to the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team while junior Megan Sowa (Gurnee, Ill.) collected scholar-athlete honorable mention honors.
 
Finneran is an outstanding student who holds a 3.88 cumulative grade point average in biology. She was awarded the prestigious MVC Elite 18 award after the MVC championship game against Wichita State this past weekend. The Elite 18 award is presented to the student-athlete participating in each MVC sport championship with the highest GPA. On the field this season, Finneran started 52 of 54 games and batted .226 with six doubles, 17 runs scored and 17 runs batted in. This is the first career MVC Scholar-Athlete honor for Finneran.
 
Sowa is a double major in English and secondary education who owns a 3.39 GPA. This year, she earned her third career All-MVC accolade with her selection to the All-MVC First Team also being named to the first team as a freshman and to the second team as a sophomore. This season, Sowa hit .297 with a team-high 14 doubles and 39 RBI along with tallying one triple and six home runs. Sowa's doubles and RBI totals are each tied for the fourth best single-season marks in program history. This is the first career MVC Scholar-Athlete honor for Sowa.
 
The league's sports information directors vote on the MVC Scholar-Athlete teams. In order to be eligible, student-athletes must have a 3.2 GPA or higher, be at least a sophomore in athletic and academic standing at their institution and meet certain playing requirements.