FORT MYERS, Fla. – In the midst of the team's strong season, FGCU women's basketball junior Stephanie Haas (Avon Lake, Ohio/Magnificat High School) has earned a position on the 2015 Capital One Academic All-District 4 First team. The team recognizes the nation's top student-athletes based on combined performances athletically and in the classroom and is voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

The District 4 team is made up of student-athletes from Division I institutions from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico and South Carolina. To be nominated, student-athletes must be at least a sophomore, a starter or important reserve and must hold a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or higher.

Haas is now eligible to be selected as a member of the 2013 Capital one All-America Team ballot, where first, second and third team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.

As a Criminal Justice major with a 3.93 cumulative grade point average, Haas leads the team academically. On the court, Haas is one of three Eagles to average double figures with 10.0 points per game and has started 15 of the team's 22 contests.

Haas scored 30 points against SEC foe Auburn early in the season and has since recorded 11 appearances with at least 10 points. She has seen the court in each of the team's 22 games with an average of 22.2 minutes played per game and has maintained a shooting success rate of 45.7 percent from the floor.  Haas has made 18 shots from beyond-the-arc, while dishing out 29 assists and grabbing 13 steals. In the team's most recent game, the Ohio native put up 14 points and a career-high eight rebounds to help the team to a win at Northern Kentucky.

In addition to Haas, the District 4 award winners include Georgia's Marjorie Butler, FAU's Alison Gorrell, Georgia Southern's Anna Claire Knight and South Carolina's Tiffany Mitchell.  Haas' 3.93 grade point average ranks as the highest of the District 4 honorees. She stands as the Atlantic Sun's only All-District award winner this season but gives FGCU its fourth-straight honoree as graduate Sarah Hansen earned the accolade for three-consecutive seasons.

Haas and the Eagles hold the nation's seventh-best win streak at 15 games and stand at number 22 in the official RPI as of Thursday. The team picked up votes in both the AP Top-25 and the USA Today Coaches' Poll for the second consecutive week and is looking to maintain its unblemished record in conference play this weekend. With a record of 20-2, the Eagles will travel to DeLand for a 1 p.m. bout with in-state rival, Stetson University.

Including this year's come-from-behind win to open the conference slate, the Eagles have won nine of their last 10 meetings with the Hatters. Despite the glaring advantage FGCU holds in the series, the last three meetings between the Hatters and the Eagles have been decided by five total points with two contests going to overtime proving Saturday as a pivotal matchup for the Atlantic Sun standings.

The Saturday afternoon contest will be part of a men's/women's double header with the FGCU men's program.Single-game tickets for all FGCU women's basketball games are on sale online at FGCUAthletics.com, over the phone at 239-590-7145 or in person at the Alico Arena Box Office.
 
Group sales for women's basketball games are available for parties of 20 or more at a discounted rate.  Beginning this season, groups will receive the opportunity for to upgrade their package to include chairback seats, a PA announcement and a special FGCU group T-Shirt at a cost of $10.
 
For up-to-the minute information on the FGCU women's basketball team, stay tuned to FGCUAthletics.com and follow the official Twitter of FGCU women's basketball at @FGCU_WBB.
 
Head coach Karl Smesko earned his fourth-consecutive Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year award after a successful 2013-14 campaign. Under his direction, the team completed the season with a record of 26-8, including a 17-1 mark in conference action and won the program's 300th win last January. Smesko guided the Eagles to their fourth-consecutive regular season championship and went undefeated in the A-Sun Conference tournament to win their second Tournament Championship in three seasons.  With 20 wins so far in the 2014-15 season, Smesko has guided the Eagles to 11-straight 20+ win seasons.  He maintains a record of 334-66 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.5 with a mark of 124-13 (90.5 W%) in Atlantic Sun contests.  The five-time Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year ranks among an elite list of just four active Division I coaches with a career win percentage of .800 or higher.  Smesko joins Connecticut's Geno Auriemma, Baylor's Kim Mulkey and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer in the esteemed group.
 
SUPPORT THE CAUSE
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visitwww.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.