FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 16, 2006

MSSU's Gombosi named to Academic All-America   team

JOPLIN, Mo. - Missouri Southern State University student-athlete Barb Gombosi this week was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America   Women's At-Large (College Division) Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Gombosi, a senior on the 2005-06 MSSU women's tennis team, completed her athletic eligibility with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average. The psychology major had been a repeat selection on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII   squad and was a second-team selection on the 2006 Academic All-America   Women's At-Large (College Division) Team.

On the court, Gombosi posted a record of 19-10 at No. 2 singles this season for the Lions and ended the year ranked sixth in the North Central Region Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings for NCAA Division II.

In No. 1 doubles play, she was 18-8 on the year with partner Michelle Hall, and that tandem conclued the year with a No. 1 ranking in the North Central Region and a No. 21 national ranking.

Missouri Southern finished as runner-up in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) and won its bracket in the North Central Regional before advancing - for the first time in team history - to the NCAA-II Sweet 16. The Lions finished the season ranked 40th in the nation and second in the region. MSSU's final won-lost team record was 14-8.

Gombosi was one of four MIAA student-athletes named to the Women's At-Large team. Truman State swimmer Brittany Anderson was a first-team selection, while Lija Kaleps-Clark (TSU, swimming) and Gena Lindsey (Northwest Missouri State, tennis) joined Gombosi in the second team.

Gombosi was also named to the MIAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll for the second time in as many years.