Dillon Chosen To Academic All-America Third Team
UW-Oshkosh senior designated player Natalie Dillon has collected Academic All-America® softball honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Dillon, a Third Team selection, was among 33 NCAA Division III student-athletes recognized for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom during the 2021 season. CoSIDA members voted 11 student-athletes to its First, Second and Third teams, including pitcher Hanna Hull of Virginia Wesleyan University who was named the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Softball Player of the Year.
Dillon, who graduated in May with a 3.99 cumulative grade-point average as a major in both journalism and English. The first-time Academic All-America® honoree is employed by Epic in Verona as a quality curator.
This past spring Dillon received Division III All-Great Lakes Region Third Team honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association after hitting .407 with three doubles, seven runs scored and six runs batted in.
Dillon, who started 23 of the 31 games that she played for the Titans in 2021, went a combined 5-for-7 at the plate during the season-opening doubleheader at St. Norbert College on March 9 and totaled six multiple-hit contests overall.
Dillon appeared in 111 games during her five seasons at UW-Oshkosh. Her career totals featured a .353 batting average with 11 doubles, two triples, 42 runs scored and 21 runs batted in.
Dillon, a 2016 graduate of Monroe High School, was represented on the UW-Oshkosh Dean's List 10 times and the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll five. Earlier this month she was one of 11 student-athletes chosen to the 2021 CoSIDA NCAA Division III Academic All-District® 6 Softball Team.
Other Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference student-athletes voted to the 2021 NCAA Division III Academic All-America® Softball Team were UW-Whitewater's Kaleigh O'Brien (Second Team - Infielder) and UW-Eau Claire's Sadie Erickson (Third Team - Infielder).
UW-Oshkosh compiled a 29-13 record this past spring while earning a pair of WIAC titles and a fifth-place finish at the Division III Championship. The Titans shared the WIAC's regular season title with UW-Whitewater before posting a 4-0 win over the Warhawks in the third and deciding contest of the league's postseason tournament.
UW-Oshkosh won two of its three games at the Division III Championship in Salem, Va., after going unbeaten in four regional contests.
Since the inception of the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Program in 1952, 57 UW-Oshkosh student-athletes have combined for 80 Academic All-America® awards.
Previous UW-Oshkosh selections to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Softball Team were Nila Gruenewald in 1985 (Second Team), Eileen Hare in 1988 (Third Team), Amie Heinzelman in 2010 (First Team) and Abby Menting in 2019 (Second Team).
2021 CoSIDA NCAA Division III Academic All-America® Softball Teams