Thursday, May 6, 2004
SMITH NESCAC
PLAYER OF THE YEAR AS SOFTBALL HONORS ARRIVE
Bongiolatti, Davidian and Fox also honored
MEDFORD – Tufts University Softball 1B Katie Smith (Convent Station, NJ/Morristown) has been named the 2004 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Player of the Year following a superb junior season.
Smith was one of three Jumbos named to both the All-New England Intercollegiate Softball Coaches' Association (NEISCA) and All-NESCAC teams that were released on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, this week. Junior SS Courtney Bongiolatti (Locust, NJ/Middletown) and senior 2B Deana Davidian (Pelham, NY/Pelham) were also named to both teams, while senior C Julie Fox (Willow Springs, IL/Lyons Township) was selected to the All-NESCAC Second Team.
Smith is the fourth straight Jumbo to earn NESCAC Player of the Year, following Lis Drake in 2003, Jen Mackey in 2002 and Randee McArdle in 2001. Smith was also chosen to the NESCAC First Team and to the NEISCA honorable mention. While Williams College remains the only conference team still in action at the NCAA Tournament, Smith leads the NESCAC in hitting with a .414 mark. She's also second in hits (41), tied for second in runs batted in (23), second in home runs (4), second in total bases (61) and tied for fourth in doubles (8). In addition, she played outstanding first base with just three errors in 270 chances for a .989 fielding percentage this year. Smith was All-NESCAC Second Team and NEISCA honorable mention last spring as a sophomore.
Joining Smith on the All-NESCASC First Team is her right-side infield partner Davidian. She hit .365 and leads the conference with 42 hits and 24 runs scored while also finishing third with 55 total bases. Also named an NEISCA Second Team All-Star, Davidian had just four errors in 173 chances at second base (.977). She was All-NESCAC Second Team last season.
Also on the All-NESCAC First Team was Bongiolatti, the NESCAC home run queen this spring with six. She also leads the conference with 63 total bases as the Jumbos are 1-2-3 in that category. A .346 hitter, just outside the top 10, Bongiolatti is tied for second with Smith in RBIs (23). She was the All-NESCAC First team shortstop last season and a NEISCA honorable mention pick.
Fox, who played every position except pitcher and shortstop during her career with the Jumbos, started all 32 games at catcher this spring and hit .340 with three home runs (third in NESCAC) and 16 RBIs. She handled a pitching staff that used five different hurlers who all won at least one game, and she picked off six base runners. Fox was All-NESCAC and All-NEISCA First Team at third base in 2003, and All-NESCAC First Team and All-NEISCA Second Team in the outfield for 2002.
Tufts finished 16-16 overall and qualified for the NESCAC post-season tournament for the fourth consecutive season since it was inaugurated in 2001. The Jumbos made a quick exit, losing to Williams in the first round, 1-0, and getting eliminated by Middlebury, 2-0.
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