Also One of the Academic Best Venne Earns Regional Academic Honors
SELINSGROVE, (Pa.) - Susquehanna University's All-American
senior power forward Kristen Venne of Shillington (Governor Mifflin
High School) can add being selected to the GTE College Division
Academic All-District II Women's Basketball Team by the College
Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) to her growing
list of accomplishments during her final season.
To be nominated for the GTE Academic All-America Team, a
student-athlete must be at least a sophomore with a 3.2 cumulative
grade-point average, and either a starter or significant reserve on
their respective teams. College Division District II includes all
NCAA Division II and III schools, as well as NAIA Division II
schools from Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Venne earned a spot on the team by being one of the top five
vote-getters from among the 44 women's basketball nominations
submitted by sports information directors from the region. She
joins senior small forward Joyce Johnson from fellow MAC school
Widener as being the only Division III representatives on this
season's District II team, with the final three members all being
from Division II schools.
All five members of the District II team will be among the 40
players from eight districts placed on the 1999 national ballot.
The GTE College Division Academic All-America Women's Basketball
Team is scheduled to be announced on Thursday, March 18.
The 5-9 Venne is a two-time All-American who is already one of the
10 finalists for the Jostens Trophy as the NCAA Division III
Women's Basketball Player of the Year. She leads the team in both
scoring (21.6 ppg) and rebounding (9.3 rpg) - ranking second in the
MAC and eighth in Division III in scoring, and fifth in the
conference in rebounding. She is also second on the team and third
in the MAC in field goal percentage (57.9%, 212 of 366), ranking
19th in the nation. Her 561 points and current scoring average are
the second best in a season at Susquehanna (Records: 586 points,
Deb Yeasted, 1984-85; 29.8 avg., Lyn Jones, 1980-81). A five-time
selection to the Division III Online's National Team of the Week
this season, Venne has scored in double figures in 40-straight
games, and 97 of 99 during her collegiate career. She is second in
Susquehanna women's history in career scoring (1,911 points) and
third in rebounding (881). At present, she is tied for first in MAC
modern history (since 1993-94) in career scoring average (19.3
ppg), is third in both field goal percentage (54.7%) and rebounds
(8.9 per game), and fourth in free throw percentage (76.9%).
"I know Kristen is as proud of her academic success as she is of
her basketball accomplishments. While she's earned a lot of honors
during her career, this one probably ranks right up there with all
of them," said 12th-year Susquehanna head coach Mark Hribar. "You
would have to think she's probably got a good shot of earning
national Academic All-American honors."
A psychology major, she is the daughter of Richard and Ann Venne of
Shillington. Venne has helped Susquehanna post a 17-9 record and
make the 48-team NCAA Division III Championship Tournament field
for the ninth-time in program history - and first time since 1993.
Seeded fourth in the Mid-Atlantic Region, Susquehanna will host
23-4 Pennsylvania Athletic Conference runner-up Gwynedd-Mercy
College in a first-round game Wednesday, March 3, at 7 p.m.
