SALEM, Va. - Midwestern State's Brittney Tanner and Elena Bennett earned All-America honors from the National Fast-pitch Coaches' Association as announced Wednesday night at the NCAA Division II Softball Championship banquet held at the Salem Civic Center.

Tanner is the first first-team All American in MSU softball history after leading the Mustangs to its first World Series appearance with a 30-8 record and 1.49 ERA.

The senior from Burkburnett ranks among national leaders in numerous pitching categories and is second in NCAA Division II with a school record 13 shutouts.

Tanner rates third in the nation in victories and total strikeouts with 336, while also enjoying a stellar campaign at the plate where she takes a .331 average into this weekend's championship with six doubles and five home runs while driving in 19 runs.

Bennett gained second-team honors after developing into one of the toughest outs in NCAA Division II.

The sophomore slap hitter ranks 54th nationally with a .420 batting average with three doubles and a triple while scoring 57 runs.

Bennett set school records with 87 hits and 39 stolen bases. She committed just one error in 61 chances while recording four assists from her post in center field.

Tanner is one of four South Central Region players to gain first-team honors joining Texas Woman's University shortstop Bailey Vrazel, West Texas A&M center fielder Kimberly LeComte and Nebraska-Omaha pitcher Lindsey Slocum.

The region placed three players on the second team including Bennett, Nebraska-Omaha pitcher Beth Haley and Emporia State second baseman Angela Mahan.

Emporia State catcher Amanda Self and Southeastern Oklahoma State's Jeana Keyes gained third-team accolades.

Midwestern State opens the NCAA Division II World Series Thursday night against No. 1 Alabama-Huntsville. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. (Central Time).
  

2011 NFCA All America Teams
First Team
Pos.	Student-Athlete	School
P	Hope Bitzer	Rollins (Fla.)
P	Jessica Coan	North Georgia
P	Brittney Tanner	Midwestern State
C	Lacy Mauro	Bloomsburg (Pa.)
C	Christine Roser	Rollins (Fla.)
1B	Molly Link	Winona State (Minn.)
2B	April Jowers	Armstrong Atlantic (Ga.)
SS	Bailey Vrazel	Texas Woman's
3B	Nicole Hagenah	C.W. Post (N.Y.)
OF	Grace Slone Collins	Barry (Fla.)
OF	Kimberly LeComte	West Texas A&M
OF	Katelyn Lovato	Adams State
DP	Katie Martin	Grand Valley State (Mich.)
UT/P	Lindsey Slocum	Nebraska-Omaha
UT	Mary Kelley	Alabama-Huntsville
At Large/P	Erin Holloway	Indiana (Pa.)
Second Team
Pos.	Student-Athlete	School
P	Torie Bunzell	Quincy (Ill.)
P	Camille Gaito	UC-San Diego
P	Beth Haley	Nebraska-Omaha
C	Alisa Heronema	Regis (Colo.)
C	Bri Shoemake	Carson-Newman (Tenn.)
1B	Chrissy Stalf	Humboldt State (Calif.)
2B	Angela Mahan	Emporia State (Kan.)
SS	Marti Littlefield	Valdosta State (Ga.)
3B	Kelsey Rummel	Indianapolis (Ind.)
OF	Alison Allen	Wayne State
OF	Elena Bennett	Midwestern State
OF	Chelsea Harold	New Haven
DP	Lindsay Erickson	Minnesota State-Mankato
UT/P	Brianna Smith	Barry (Fla.)
UT	Kristen Jones	Augusta State (Ga.)
At Large/OF	Ashley Gates	Northern Kentucky
Third Team
Pos.	Student-Athlete	School
P	Katie Goetzinger	Wayne State
C	Amanda Self	Emporia State
1B	Megan McCormick	Indiana (Pa.)
2B	Hope Cornell	Shippensburg (Pa.)
SS	Christina Gelardi	New Haven (Conn.)
SS	Jillian Russell	California (Pa.)
3B	Traci Fransen	Augustana (S.D.)
OF	Valisha Fincher	West Alabama
At Large/C	Kathy Crudo	Winona State (Minn.)
At Large/P	Kayla Jackson	Arkansas-Monticello
At Large/3B	Nicole Henninger	Kutztown (Pa.)
At Large/OF	Jeana Keyes	Southeastern Oklahoma
At Large/OF	Leah Price	Carson-Newman (Tenn.)
At Large/OF	Felicia Viveiros	Humboldt State (Calif.)