July 11, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Illinois Wesleyan sophomores Molly Coers and Stephanie Gockley (softball) and junior Lindsey Irwin (women's at-large) were selected to the first team of their respective District Five College Division all-academic squads and will join representatives of seven other districts on the ESPN: The Magazine Academic All-America national ballot.
Coers, a shortstop from Manito, Ill. (Midwest Central HS), is an accounting major with a 3.82 grade-point average (on a 4.0 scale). A first team all-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin player, Coers batted a team-high .375 and led the Titans with 27 runs scored and 45 hits.
After two seasons, Coers is 29th among IWU career hit leaders with 82. She was third in the league in hitting, second in hits and fifth in runs and total bases.
Gockley, a designated hitter from Lisle, Ill. (HS), has a 3.35 grade-point average as a psychology major. This spring she batted .326 with six doubles, one home run and tied for third on the squad with 16 runs batted in.
At-large athletes are chosen from among the sports of swimming, rifle, golf, tennis, ice hockey and gymnastics. Irwin, a tennis player from Belleville, Ill. (West HS), is a Spanish major with a 3.95 grade-point average (on a 4.0 scale). She was named to the first team of the all-CCIW squad for the third straight year as she finished 12-5 record at No. 1 singles player and was third in the CCIW championships. Playing at No. 1 singles her entire career, Irwin ranks No. 18 in IWU career singles victories with a 34-18 record (.653). Irwin is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi, Alpha Lambda Delta, Phi Beta Delta and Sigma Delta Pi honoraries.
Senior Gena Rawlins was named to the second team of the District Five College Division all-academic women’s track and field/cross country squad, but only first team honorees are placed on the national ballot. Rawlins, of Atlanta, Ill., received her bachelor’s degree cum laude in May with a major in risk management. She was a member of both Alpha Lambda Delta and Egas honor societies. A three-time team MVP and two-time team captain, Rawlins was a 14-time career All-American and her most recent All-America performance came in the NCAA Division III outdoor championships when she placed eighth in the 400. She was seventh in the indoor nationals earlier this year. Rawlins was a member of the Titans’ national champion indoor 4x400 relay team in 2004.
