Nov. 2, 2012

OXFORD, Miss. – Days after being named the Southeastern Conference Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year, Rafaelle Souza continued to pull in accolades for her academic performance when she was named a Capital One Academic All-District First Team selection by the College Sports Information Directors Association, the organization announced on Friday.

Souza was one of three athletes selected from the Southeastern Conference from the District and will move on to the Capital One Academic All-America ballot by virtue of being a first team All-District selection.

The junior from Salvador, Brazil, currently boasts a 3.72 GPA in Engineering. Souza has been successful in the classroom and also in the Ole Miss community. She has been selected to the Dean’s Honor Roll and the Chancellor’s Honor Roll in recognition of her academic achievements.

Souza is tied with teammate Mandy McCalla for the Southeastern Conference lead in goals (13) and points (33). She has posted four game-winning goals this season, including the goal to give the Rebels an opening-round win over LSU in the SEC Tournament with 43 seconds left on the clock. Souza has also posted seven assists on the year, tying for fourth in the league.

To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) at his/her current institution. Nominated athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team’s games at the position listed. No student-athlete is eligible until he/she has completed one full calendar year at his/her current institution and has reached sophomore athletic eligibility. In the cases of transfers, graduate students and two-year college graduates, the student-athlete must have completed one full calendar year at the nominating institution to be eligible. Nominees in graduate school must have a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or better both as an undergrad and in grad school.