Hannah Schmoll, Becky Smith, Sami Schnyder and Jordan Rice are not only the University of Minnesota Duluth's top four hitters, but they are also All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference honorees for 2015.

Schmoll and Rice both secured spots on the 16-member All-NSIC first team while Smith and Schnyder were second team selections. In addition, Rice was chosen to the league's Gold Glove Team for her fielding prowess.

Rice, a senior first baseman from Ham Lake, Minn., tops the Bulldogs in home runs with 13 (two shy of the program single-season record) and ranks fourth on the club's batting average chart (a career-high .347). This spring while batting out of the cleanup position, she has established a UMD single-season record for put outs (364) and career marks for home runs (she now has 43) and walks and needs five more RBIs to become the Bulldogs' all-time leader in that department.

Schmoll, a rookie center fielder from Grand Rapids, Minn., leads all NSIC freshmen -- and all Bulldogs  -- in batting average (.412), hits (77) and runs (47). She ended the regular season on an eight-game hitting streak and hit safely in 17 straight outings earlier this spring. Schmoll, who needs just two more stolen bases to surpass UMD's single-season record (she's 27 or 29 in thefts), has gotten on base in all but five of her 52 games as a Bulldog and owns a team-leading .583 mark advancing runners this spring.

Schnyder, a junior third baseman from Waconia, Minn., also attained All-NSIC second team status one year ago in addition to earning a spot on the Gold Glove Team. This spring, she is hitting at a .358 clip (only two other Bulldogs have bettered that figure) and has done her best work when leading off an inning (.591).

Smith, a freshman shortstop from Long Lake, Minn., ranks first among NSIC freshmen -- and all Bulldogs – in RBIs (3^rd overall;  57); doubles (2^nd overall; 22), home runs (8^th overall; 11), total bases (6^th overall; .116) and slugging percentage (6^th overall;  .686). She has already established school records for both RBI and doubles during her first collegiate go-around and is within striking distance of eclipsing the program's single-season mark for total bases. One of the NSIC's best clutch hitters, Smith Is batting .420 with runners in scoring position and .403 with two outs (when she's driven in 23 of her 57 runs). She Is one of just three Bulldogs to play in all 53 games to date  (Rice and rookie second baseman Natalie Wright are the others.

The Bulldogs will meet Southwest Minnesota State University on Thursday morning in the opening round of the three-day, double-elimination Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament.
 
2015 All-NSIC Teams