IRVING, Texas (June 7, 2017) -- FIU graduating senior Stephanie Texeira (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) is one of 14 student-athletes named a recipient of the Conference USA Spring Spirit of Service Award, the league announced today. The C-USA Spirit of Service Award is designed to recognize the community service efforts of the league's student-athletes, based upon significant community service, good academic standing and participation in their elected sport. The Spirit of Service award is presented three times throughout the season, with today's honorees representing spring sports: baseball, beach volleyball, golf, softball, tennis, and outdoor track & field. One student-athlete from each C-USA member institution is named to the list for each playing season (fall, winter, spring).
 
Texeira is the program's all-time leader in batting average (.405), slugging percentage (.759), on-base percentage (.543), runs (159), home runs (47), RBI (190), total bases (420), walks (147) and defensive putouts (1,191). Her 190 RBI are the most in a career in C-USA softball history. At the conclusion of the 2017 season, Texeira ranked sixth in walks, 11^th in RBI, 14^th in slugging and total bases and 18^th in home runs by all active Division I players. She was selected to the NFCA All-South Region First Team and was a First-Team All-C-USA performer and a member of the 2017 All-C-USA Tournament Team for the Panthers. Away from the field, Texeira volunteered with FIU Residential Life to help incoming students move into their campus dorms and also took part in complimentary softball clinics for local children. Texeira graduated in May with her Bachelor of Arts degree in liberal studies while earning Dean's List honors last fall.
 
Click here to see the complete list of spring C-USA Spirit of Service Award recipients.
 
For softball ticket information, contact the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or log onto www.FIUSports.com.
 
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUSoftball) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSoftball) for all the latest FIU softball news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google+ (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
                                                                                                                    
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in eight different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including Lime Court at FIU Arena and Riccardo Silva Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is classified by Carnegie as a "R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest Research Activity" and recognized as a Carnegie Community Engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as business, engineering, computer science, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes almost $9 billion each year to the local economy and is ranked second in Florida in Forbes Magazine's "America's Best Employers" list. FIU graduates are consistently among the highest paid college graduates in Florida and are among the leaders of public and private organizations throughout South Florida. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission with multiple state-of-the-art research facilities including the Wall of Wind Research and Testing Facility, FIU's Medina Aquarius Program and the Advanced Materials Engineering Research Institute.  FIU has awarded more than 220,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, the Miami Beach Urban Studios, and Tianjin, China. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and more than 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.