PAC Release

TRAFFORD, Pa. -- Allegheny College senior Samantha Dzierba (Colden, N.Y./Orchard Park) was selected as a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Scholar-Athlete of the Month for March.

Each month, the SAAC groups at PAC member institutions are asked to nominate one male and one female student-athlete for PAC SAAC Scholar-Athlete of the Month consideration based on academic and athletic accomplishments. Nominees must be varsity team members in their respective sports and in their junior or senior year. Scholar-Athlete of the Month nominees must also have a cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher and be actively involved within their campus communities.

Dzierba, a starting pitcher on the softball team, went 5-2 with a 2.91 ERA in 43.2 innings of work in March. She finished the month with 47 strikeouts against only 17 walks. Dzierba was named PAC Pitcher of the Week after Allegheny's 10-0 season-opening win over Bluffton University, as she gave up just one hit with nine strikeouts in 5.0 scoreless frames. She also fired shutouts in a 4-0 win over Mount Aloysius College on March 12 and a 7-0 PAC victory over Chatham University on March 21.

An environmental science and sustainability major, Dzierba maintains a 3.85 GPA. She is a Chi Alpha Sigma inductee, two-time College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honoree, and two-time Distinguished Alden Scholar. A recipient of the Trustee Scholarship, she has co-authored two publications and presented at the 2024 JMIH Conference in Pittsburgh. Dzierba has contributed to six research and professional projects spanning marine science, sustainability, and community planning.