Friday

Friday, May 9, 2003

TUFTS SOFTBALL DOMINATES ALL-NESCAC SELECTIONS AGAIN
Drake named Player of the Year, Herman is Coach of the Year

MEDFORD – The Tufts University Softball team, which won its third straight New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) title last weekend, earned seven recognitions when the 2003 All-NESCAC team and awards were announced on Friday. The Jumbos won two of the four major awards and placed five players on two All-Conference teams.

Senior catcher Lis Drake (Chelmsford, MA/Chelmsford) was named Player of the Year following a vote by the conference's coaches. Jumbo Head Coach Kris Herman was picked as the Coach of the Year. Drake, sophomore shortstop Courtney Bongiolatti (Locust, NJ/Middletown) and junior 3B Julie Fox (Willow Springs, IL/Lyons Township) were named to the First Team. Junior 2B Deana Davidian (Pelham, NY/Pelham) and sophomore 1B Katie Smith (Convent Station, NJ/Morristown) were Second Team selections.

Tufts, 25-11 overall, is the 18^th ranked team in the country. They begin play in their seventh straight NCAA Tournament today at Wheaton College. The team earned its first-ever #1 seed in the NCAA New England Regional Tournament.

Drake had her usual outstanding season at the plate and was equally excellent behind it as the team's every-day catcher. Entering the NCAAs, she's hitting .388 (38 for 98) with seven home runs, 27 runs batted in and 34 runs scored. She leads NESCAC in runs and is tied for the lead in home runs. With a rifle arm she picked off five base-runners this season.

In all games against NESCAC teams this season, she led the Jumbos with a .475 batting average, 13 walks and 17 runs scored. She was the conference's Player of the Week on April 14 after hitting .625 during a 5-1 stretch that included conference double-headers against Colby and Bowdoin. This is the fourth straight year Drake has been on the All-NESCAC First Team. She was the conference's Rookie of the Year in 2000. She is the third straight Jumbo to win NESCAC Player of the Year, following SS Jen Mackey last season and CF Randee McArdle in 2001.

Herman is the NESCAC's Coach of the Year for the third straight season. Despite the loss of All-American pitcher Jodie Moreau to graduation last spring, Herman has the Jumbos right where they've always been for most of the past decade. She has recruited a batting order that was the fiercest in the league, hitting a team record 26 home runs so far and leading NESCAC with 182 runs scored. She handled an inexperienced pitching staff that helped the team to a 20-4 record since returning from its spring break trip to California. Talon is a 1986 Tufts graduate who has led Softball to 338 career wins in 16 seasons as head coach.

Bongiolatti took over at shortstop this season from Mackey and had a spectacular sophomore season. She's leading Tufts with a .426 batting average (46/108) and leads the conference with 75 total bases. She's also tied for the league lead in hits and home runs, and has stolen nine bases. Four of her home runs and 14 RBIs came in 15 games against NESCAC teams. Bongiolatti was the NESCAC Rookie of the Year last season.

Fox had a knack for hitting in the clutch as part of her consistent production this season. No hit was bigger than her three-run double that gave Tufts a 4-1 lead in the seventh and final game of the NESCAC Tournament against Williams. She's hitting .404 overall (46 for 114), is tied with Bongiolatti for the league lead in hits, and has six home runs with 32 RBIs. An All-NESCAC First Teamer last spring, she hit four home runs against NESCAC teams.

Davidian set the table at the top of the Tufts batting order and played excellent defense at second. She hit .353 with 25 runs scored and a .960 fielding percentage (eight errors in 201 chances). Her 21 hits were the most by any Jumbo against NESCAC opposition this season and she set a conference tournament record with eight. In the midst of all this hitting, it is Smith who leads the team and the league with 33 RBIs. She's batting .339 overall with four home runs and only one error in 295 chances at first. She went 4 for 7 with four RBIs in a double-header sweep of Williams College late in the regular season.

More honors are on the way once the regional and national all-star teams are announced.