Nov. 7, 2011

FRESNO, Calif. - The first job of a student-athlete is studying to earn a degree. The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) have recognized this and honor the exceptional student-athletes competing across the NCAA.

The Capital One Academic All-District award is given to student-athletes who have excelled not only in their respective sport, but also in the classroom.

Senior Kendall VanDine and sophomore Kayla Kret were recognized by the organization earning first-team All-District VIII. The pair will move on and be added to the ballot for Academic All-American.

VanDine, a 2010 CoSIDA Academic All-District award recipient, is a communicative disorders major with an emphasis in speech language pathology. She played every minute of every match for the Bulldogs and has recorded over 129 hours of game time in her career. The three-year captain helped lead the team to two conference championships and three title matches over her four years. VanDine was named to the All-Western Athletic Conference first-team and the all-tournament team this season.

This is Kret's first national award. She is a biology major with an emphasis in human anatomy and physiology. She also played every minute on the pitch this season and was named WAC Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 26) after helping keep No. 8 Pepperdine scoreless for over 108 minutes. That same match, she headed in the game-tying goal, her second against a ranked opponent. She finished the year with a career-high three goals.

The two defenders are cornerstones of a defense that earned 10 shutouts and has been ranked top 50 nationally in shutout percentage.

"We Are Your Team!" You can stay connected with Fresno State Athletics online at gobulldogs.com, Facebook (fresnostateathletics) and Twitter (@FSAthletics).

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