Recent graduate of the University of Rochester, Alexis Pope from the UR softball team, has been honored by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) as an Academic All-American for the 2021 season.
 
Pope was named a 3rd Team Academic All-American by CoSIDA on Tuesday, becoming just the third player in program history to be awarded the honor. She joins Jessica Sorrentino who was named 2nd Team in 2008 and Harleigh Kaczegowicz who earned 3rd Team awards in 2019.
 
In order to qualify for Academic All-America consideration, individuals must be at least a sophomore in academic standing, have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.30 and be a starter or key reserve on their respective team. Student-athletes are split into districts and chosen by Sports Information Directors of that region on their merits both in the classroom and on the field. 1st Team All-District honorees from all eight regions are the individuals that make up the ballot for Academic All-America voting.
 
Pope earned her degree earlier this year from the University in Biochemistry posting a cumulative grade point average of 3.79.
 

During her time on the River Campus, Pope was highly decorated academically. She was elected Phi Beta Kappa and named to the Keideaens Senior Honor Society as a senior. The Cum Laude graduate also was a 3-time Liberty League All-Academic honoree and was named a UR Lysle 'Spike' Garnish Scholar during the fall.
 
She earned a Fulbright Grant and will be conducting research in Germany next year at the Max Planck Institute of Aging. Also, Pope interned with NovaRock Biotherapeutics which focuses on developing antibody therapies for combating cancer and autoimmune disease.
 
While at UR, Pope was a teachers assistant for a genetics lab and cell biology course. Additionally, she was an undergraduate tutor for biology and organic chemistry courses while also finding time to work in the lab of Dr. Vera Gorbunova and Dr. Andrei Seluanov in the Department of Biology. Her work there included studying the effects of the SIRT6 gene and its effect on aging. She also joined the lab of Dr. Elaine Sia in 2020 where she studied the mechanisms of mitochondrial DNA double-stranded break repair.
 
On the softball field, Pope had a career year in 2021, helping the Yellowjackets be one of the final eight teams in Division III, reaching the NCAA Finals in Salem, Virginia. She hit .338 in starting all 45 of Rochester's games, going 45-of-133 at the plate. She scored 38 runs, had 12 doubles, 1 triple and 4 home runs while driving in 41 runs, 26 better than her previous career-high. The senior also drew 18 walks, reached base over 40 percent of the time and had a .534 slugging percentage.
 
She also earned 2nd Team All-Liberty League accolades in 2021 and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Erie, PA regional during the NCAA Division III Tournament. At the regional, she had six hits, five runs, five RBI and two doubles.