SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Senior Andrea Becker, a shortstop on the Sacramento State softball team, was among 12 female student-athletes representing eight NCAA Division I institutions selected to the 2001 Verizon Academic All-District VIII Softball Team on Thursday.

Becker, who has a 3.94 gpa as a kinesiology major, started 39 games at shortstop this year while finishing tied for second on the team with seven sacrifices and tied for fourth with eight walks. A team co-captain each of the last two years, the Martinez, Calif., native has also been an NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete award winner each of the last three seasons.

In addition, Becker has played her entire career at Sacramento State with a herniated disc and degenerative disc disease. She took a redshirt in 1997 and was limited to just five games in 1999 because of the back problem. Despite that, Becker finished her career playing in 118 career games, including 102 starts.

To be eligible for Academic All-America honors as voted on by members of CoSIDA, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative gpa (on a 4.0 scale), must be a starter or an important reserve and be in at least their second season with the current school.

Becker and the other 11 student-athletes selected today will now be on the national Verizon Softball Academic All-America ballot. First, second and third team national winners will be announced on Thursday, June 7.