Nielsen named to Academic All-District First Team

INDIANOLA, Iowa - Simpson women's basketball player Kate Nielsen earned a spot on the Capital One Academic All-District® VIII First Team, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Thursday.

Nielsen, a junior forward from Urbandale, Iowa, achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.94 while majoring in exercise science. In three full semesters at Simpson, she has been named to the President's List (4.0 on a 4.0 scale) twice and the Dean's List (3.7/4.0) once. She was a two-time Dean's List selection at her previous school, Minnesota State, Mankato.

One of the top rebounders in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC), Nielsen averages 12.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game for the Storm, who are 15-5 overall and 8-3 in the Iowa Conference. Nielsen leads the team in steals (44) and double-doubles (5) and is a two-time IIAC Player of the Week.

The IIAC is well represented in District VIII, as 4 of 6 team members come from conference schools. Joining Nielsen on the first team are Courtney Carroll (Redlands), Laura Hilby (Buena Vista), Camille Marie-Lidd (Cornell College), Hannah Munger (George Fox) and Kayla Waskow (Coe).

To be eligible for consideration, student-athletes must own a cumulative GPA of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale. As a first team selection, Nielsen advances to the Capital One Academic All-America® Team ballott, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.

Click here to view the Capital One Academic All-District® Women's Basketball Teams.