May 21, 2008
MVC Scholar-Athlete Team in PDF Format 
ST. LOUIS - A pair of University of Northern Iowa student-athletes have earned spots on the 2008 Missouri Valley Conference Softball Scholar-Athlete team, the league announced Wednesday.
Senior Stephanie Aguero and sophomore Jen Larsen were among the 12 Valley players selected for the Scholar-Athlete first team and are the first Panthers to earn such an honor since 2005.
Aguero, a senior exercise science major from Muscatine, Iowa, holds a 3.68 grade-point average and recently concluded a career that saw her start all 197 games of her four years with the Panthers. Aguero finished the 2008 campaign second on the team and sixth among MVC players with a .361 batting average. She also led the Panthers and finished fourth in The Valley with 11 doubles, hit a career-high five home runs and posted team highs in on-base percentage (.444) and slugging percentage (.537).
Larsen, also a first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection this season, owns a 3.60 grade-point average in biology. The Moline, Ill., native led the Panthers with seven home runs, including three game-winning homers, posted a .317 batting average and tallied a team-high 31 RBIs. In the pitching circle, Larsen led the team in ERA and innings pitched, throwing 10 complete games and a pair of shutouts.
Aguero and Larsen are the first Panthers to earn a spot on the Scholar-Athlete team since three-time selection Erin Strellner was a first-team pick in 2005.
MVC Player of the Year Lauren Haas, of Southern Illinois, is the lone unanimous selection to the team, earning votes from each of the conference's 10 softball sports information directors. A senior first baseman, Haas holds a 3.70 grade-point average in marketing.
Also earning first-team Scholar-Athlete honors is MVC Pitcher of the Year Tara Oltman of Creighton.
