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Teams: Softball: Team
Overview
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The Tufts University Softball team is one of New Englands most
successful with nine NCAA Tournament appearances and six conference
championships. Coming off a record-tying 31-win season that ended with a
runner-up finish in the NCAA Tournament Regionals, the Jumbos expect
continued success under Coach Cheryl Milligan in 2008.
Ranked by NCAA Tournament appearances, Softball is the most successful
program in the school's history despite its relatively short 23-year
history. Tufts has played in nine of the last 11 NCAA Tournaments, and
in 2000 the team advanced to the NCAA College World Series in Salem,
Virginia. Last years conference championship team finished just outside
of the top 25 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll.
The Jumbos have won the last three NESCAC East Division pennants and
have played in three straight conference tournament finals. Six of the
last seven NESCAC Player of the Year awards have gone to Jumbos. Last
season, infielder Casey Sullivan gained All-American honors and was one
of five Jumbos picked to the All-New England team. Milligan was voted by
her peers as the conferences Coach of the Year for the second time. In
2005, Courtney Bongiolatti was named the conference Player of the Year
and a First Team All-American. The team is 96-24 against NESCAC rivals
over the last six years.
Located right outside of Boston, Tufts offers a well-rounded collegiate
experience to student-athletes. Within its picturesque small-college
campus, Tufts is a major university with an unprecedented diversity of
programs, exceptional faculty and staff, and bright and talented
students, according to President Lawrence S. Bacow. The Athletics
Department sponsors a varsity program of 28 sports that is among the
most competitive in the NCAAs Division III. Tufts finished sixth in the
2006 U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup, the award presented annually to
the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country. The
Universitys proximity to a world-class city renowned for its academic
institutions is also a major draw.
A four-year starter at shortstop and an assistant coach for six years at
Tufts, Milligan was promoted to head coach of the Jumbos in July 2003.
She is a 1995 Tufts graduate who played every inning of the 120 games
during her Tufts softball career. Her .377 career batting average is
sixth all-time, and she is second on the teams career runs scored list
with 119. Milligan was a member of the class that vaulted the softball
program into annual post-season contention. The 1995 team hosted and won
the ECAC North Championship, finishing with a record 31 wins.
As members of NESCAC, Tufts is part of the nations most competitive
small college conference academically and athletically. The NESCAC is a
group of highly selective liberal arts colleges and universities that
share an academics-first philosophy for intercollegiate athletics. The
Tufts program has matched its competitive success with academic
achievement. Four members of the team were chosen to the NESCAC
All-Academic Team last spring.
The Jumbos will be a force to reckon with again in 08. Senior 2B
Danielle Lopez, the 2006 NESCAC Player of the Year, returns from a knee
injury. She joins an infield that includes Sullivan (.399, 9 HR, 43 RBIs
last year), Kuhles (.407, 14 2Bs, 38 R) and Christy Tinker (.349, 4 HRs,
34 RBIs). All-New England outfielder Maya Ripecky (.366, 5 HRs, 29 RBIs)
and pitcher/DH Erica Bailey (.406, 22 RBIs) are other big bats returning
to the team. Catcher Megan Cusick and infielder Heather Kleinberger,
both seniors, are also assets on a deep Tufts roster. Talent is also
returning in the pitchers circle, with Lauren Gelmetti (9-2, 1.95 era),
Stefanie Tong (7-4, 2.05) and Bailey (9-5, 3.26) leading the way.
Courtney Duggan and Dr. Paul Rahmeier are Milligans assistants for 08.
Duggan, a 2005 graduate of Stonehill College, was a member of two
national championship lacrosse teams at Stonehill and is a lifelong
baseball player. She was the North American Women's Baseball League's
MVP in 2006. After his retirement as Provost at the University of
Massachusetts Lowell, Rahmeier became the UML softball pitching coach,
and in 2005 also began serving as pitching coach at Tufts. During a
50-year career, Rahmeier pitched over 2,000 games and won 20 state
tournaments in eight different states. Among his pitching highlights
were three no-hitters in one day in St. Louis.
Tufts University's Spicer Field is home to the Jumbos. A new batting
cage and bullpens were added to the field last season. Tufts hosted the
2007 NESCAC Tournament at Spicer. The Jumbos start their season with a
spring break trip to California for the annual Sun West Tournament,
featuring games against some of the nations top teams.
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