WISCONSIN SOFTBALL PROSPECTUS

Transcription

1 WISCONSIN SOFTBALL FIVE NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES 0 FIRST-TEAM ALL-BIG TEN SELECTIONS 0 BIG TEN TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS QUICK FACTS GENERAL City/State: Madison, Wis. Population: 5,69 Founded: Enrollment:,9 (Undergraduates: 9,0) Nickname:Badgers Colors: Affiliation: Conference: Chancellor: Athletic Director: Senior Women s Administrator: Cardinal (PMS 00) and White NCAA I Big Ten Rebecca Blank Barry Alvarez Terry Gawlik Athletic Dept. Phone: Website: UWBadgers.com Hometown: Alma Mater: DePaul, 999 Career Record: (th year) Record at Wisconsin: (Sixth season) ASSISTANT COACHES Randy Schneider (Sixth season) Kristen Verdun (First season) SUPPORT STAFF Andie Varsho (Volunteer Assistant Coach) Lori Murphy (Program Specialist) Ashley Parr (Athletic Trainer) Jeff Zuhlke (Strength and Conditioning Coach) TEAM INFORMATION 05 Overall Record: - 05 Big Ten Record (Finish): 5-7 (th) 05 Final Rank: Not Ranked Starters Returning/Lost: / Pitchers Returning/Lost: / Letterwinners Returning/Lost: / Newcomers: TEAM HISTORY First Year of Softball: 996 Record (Years): (9) Big Ten Record (Years): 5- (9) Big Ten Tournament Championships: (0) NCAA Tournament Record: 5-0 Last NCAA Tournament: 0/ L - Oregon, 6-0 First Team All-Big Ten Selections: 0 ARENA INFORMATION Name: Goodman Softball Complex Capacity:,600 Record at Goodman: 9- (.59) Press Box Phone: PROSPECTUS A NEW ERA BEGINS The 05-6 Badgers return letterwinners and eight starters, including the team s leaders in slugging percentage, on base percentage, RBI, doubles, home runs, total bases and walks. Wisconsin returns 5. percent of its running, 9.9 percent of its hitting and 6.0 percent of its RBI production from last season. The Badgers welcome a new pitching coach in Kirsten Verdun, who played professionally for one year with the Chicago Bandits and was a two-time All-American at DePaul University. The Badgers went - in the fall exhibition season with doubleheader wins over Green Bay and a split with Northern Illinois. Eight members of the 0-5 Wisconsin softball team earned NFCA All-America Scholar- Athlete honors for the 0-5 academic year. UW will face four teams ranked in the Preseason ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 5 poll. Wisconsin also faces six teams that received votes in the preseason rankings. A LOOK BACK AT 0-5 Wisconsin set several all-time UW team records this season, including the highest on base percentage of all-time for the Badgers at.9. UW also earned the most walks, setting a new school season record with 76, and snatched the most stolen bases with. The Badgers season batting average of.96 was the second best all-time, while their stolen base percentage of.5 ranks second all-time. This season saw the fourth most all-time runs and hits, with 5 runs and 0 hits. UW tallied 56 doubles which ranks sixth all-time and 0 triples which comes in at fifth in the UW history books. Wisconsin tallied 00 RBIs, which ranks sixth all-time, and the Badgers 5 total bases is seventh best all-time. Wisconsin s senior class - Megan Tancill, Marissa Mersch and Maria Van Abel - finished as the second-winningest class in school history with a win percentage of.69 (5. The trio won 5 games for UW, including 7 Big Ten wins. Van Abel s 0 stolen bases this season gave her a career total of stolen bases. With the swipes, Van Abel finished second all-time at UW for career stolen bases. Van Abel also led the Big Ten in stolen bases (0-7). Additionally, she ranks 0th among all NCAA Division I active players with her stolen bases in her career and ranks th nationally with her 0-of-7 stolen bases this season (.5 percent). In addition, her 0 stolen bases in a single season ranks second in UW s single season stolen base records. Freshman Kelsey Jenkins broke the record for single season walks as a freshman. She recorded and the previous record was set in 000 by Anna Jones. Her walks also set the singleseason records for all players, as she passed Stephanie Peace, who set the record with 5 walks in the 0 season. She ranks third among all conference players for walks. Jenkins finished - on stolen bases for the year. She was one of six players (and the only freshman) to have started and played in all 5 games. STARTERS RETURNING () Infield (5): Sam Arents, Kelsey Jenkins, Chloe Miller, Sara Novak, Ashley Van Zeeland Outfield (): Katie Christner Pitchers (): Taylor-Paige Stewart, Mariah Watts STARTERS LOST () Infield (): Stefanni LaJeunesse (Injury), Megan Tancill Outfield (): Marissa Mersch, Maria Van Abel LETTERWINNERS RETURNING () Samantha Arents, Taylor Berry, Katie Christner, Brianna Flugaur, Kelsey Jenkins, Chloe Miller, Sara Novak, Macy Oswald, Taylor-Paige Stewart, Ashley Van Zeeland, Mariah Watts LETTERWINNERS LOST () Annie Davis, Sarah Fonk, Marisa Gonzalez, Stefanni LaJeunesse, Marissa Mersch, Nyah Rodman, Megan Tancill, Maria Van Abel NEWCOMERS () Melanie Cross, McKenna Heim, Stephanie Lombardo, Brooke Mann, Angela Morrow, Gabby Scherle, Kirsten Stevens, Kelly Welsh Softball Contact: Kelli Grashel Office: Cell: kg@athletics.wisc.edu Athletic Communications Office University of Wisconsin Kellner Hall 0 Monroe Street Madison, WI 57

2 WISCONSIN SOFTBALL 05-6 PROSPECTUS 05-6 SCHEDULE DATE OPPONENT TIME (CT) TV at Kajikawa Classic, Tempe, Arizona Feb. vs. California 0 a.m. Feb. at BYU :5 p.m. Feb. at Nevada :5 p.m. Feb. vs. Portland State :5 p.m. Feb. vs. UC Riverside 0 a.m. PRACTICE MEDIA AVAILABILITY For the spring semester, the Wisconsin softball team will practice daily from :0-5 p.m. in either the Goodman Diamond facilities or the McClain Center in Camp Randall. Practice times may vary based on travel itineraries. Send interview requests to Kelli Grashel (kg@athletics.wisc.edu). Please contact the UW Athletic Communications office for exact dates and times of daily practices. For those media members who wish to cover Wisconsin softball for the 05-6 season, please send an request to Kelli Grashel (kg@athletics.wisc.edu) for the appropriate credentials. Practice times and locations are subject to change. at NC State Hyatt Place Challenge, Raleigh, NC Feb. 9 at Louisville p.m. Feb. 0 vs. Louisville :0 p.m. Feb. 0 at NC State 6:0 p.m. Feb. vs. NC State :0 a.m. at USF Tournament, Tampa, Florida Feb. 6 at Kansas :5 a.m. Feb. 6 vs. UNLV 0:0 a.m. Feb. 7 at USF 0:0 a.m. Feb. 7 TBA or :5 p.m. Feb. TBA $ or 0:5 a.m. at Judi Garman Classic, Fullerton, California Mar. Cal State Fullerton 7 p.m. Mar. Arizona State 0 p.m. Mar. 5 Oregon State p.m. Mar. 5 Fresno State 9:0 p.m. Mar. 6 Long Beach State a.m. at Rebel Classic, Las Vegas, Nevada Mar. Santa Clara University 5:5 p.m. Mar. Valparaiso 5:5 p.m. Mar. UNLV p.m. Mar. Utah State a.m. Mar. Santa Clara :5 p.m. Mar. Detroit / p.m. Mar. Michigan State p.m. Mar. 5 Michigan State p.m. Mar. 6 Michigan State p.m. Mar. 0 South Dakota / p.m. April Ohio State p.m. April Ohio State p.m. April Ohio State p.m. April 5 North Dakota State /5 p.m. April Purdue p.m. April 9 Purdue p.m. April 0 Purdue p.m. April Minnesota /6 p.m. April 5 Iowa 5:0 p.m. April 6 Iowa p.m. April 7 Iowa p.m. April Illinois p.m. April Illinois p.m. April Illinois p.m. April 6 Green Bay / p.m. April 9 Northwestern p.m. April 0 Northwestern p.m. May Northwestern p.m. May 6 Nebraska 5:0 p.m. May 7 Nebraska p.m. May Nebraska p.m. May at Big Ten Tournament TBD State College, Penn FOLLOW THE BADGERS WEBSITE: UWBadgers.com FACEBOOK: /WisconsinSoftball SNAPCHAT: officialbadgers PITCHERS Senior Taylor-Paige Stewart returns as the Badgers ace. Last season, Stewart posted a 0- record after starting in games and appearing in. Stewart currently ranks 0th in Wisconsin softball history with 9 career strikeouts and fifth in career winning percentage (.57). Stewart recorded a team season-high strikeouts a season-best two saves. She allowed a career-best zero runs and only three hits in 5. innings pitched vs. DePaul (/). On the other side, Stewart hit the first home run of her career against Iowa (/) and also had a careerhigh three RBI vs. TAMUCC (/). Sophomore Mariah Watts appeared in games last season and finished with an -9 record in the circle. She logged a career-best eight strikeouts at Purdue. Junior Kirsten Stevens transferred from Mercer University where she was named the 05 Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year and a first-team All-Southern Conference selection. Freshman Angie Morrow finished her final high school season with a. ERA and 7 strikeouts. Morrow collected wins out of games with one save as a senior and led her team to a third-place finish in the Illinois state tournament. INFIELD Kelsey Jenkins, a sophomore from Tucson, Arizona, was the first freshman in UW history to be named first-team All-Big Ten. Jenkins set the UW single-season record for freshmen and all players with walks. She also set the freshmen record for stolen bases in a single season with. Jenkins tied the school record for most home runs by an individual in a single game with three long balls against Rutgers (5/). Sophomore Samantha Arents played in games and started in 9 as UW s first baseman. She recorded a team season-best 5 putouts vs. Portland State (/6). Arents also finished third on the team withe eight doubles after tallying a career-high two doubles vs. New Mexico State (/). Senior Ashley Van Zeeland ranked second on last season s team with two triples. She ranked fourth on the team with 7 total hits, tallying a career-high three hits on two seperate occasions. Junior Chloe Miller led the 0-5 Badgers in doubles (), runners batted in (5), hit by pitch (0) and sacrifice flies (). the 0 NFCA Great Lakes All-Region third team selection tallied a season-high four RBI vs. Seton Hall (/7) and led the team with 5 multiple RBI games. After missing last season with a knee injury, junior Sara Novak returns to the Badgers in Novak s HBP is second most by a freshman in Wisconsin history, she had ninth best on base percentage (.6) for a freshman and her four home runs in Big Ten play is tied for third most in school history. Senior Macy Oswald played in games last season, including when she stole home vs. Boston College (/) to give Wisconsin a - win in extra innings. Three-time first-team all-state shortstop McKenna Heim joins the Badgers after finishing her career at North Scott High School owning three of the top five single season batting averages. 05 Woodland Conference West Player of the Year Stephanie Lombardo makes her debut for the Badgers in 06. Lombardo holds New Berlin Eisenhower s school records for home runs and RBI. OUTFIELD Senior left fielder Katie Christner scored runs last season, ranking sixth on the team. She played in all 5 games, starting 9 and tallied a season-best two runs four times. Junior Taylor Berry started of the 5 games she played in last season behind the plate. She had a career-high three at-bats against Central Michigan (/7) and Boston College (/). Sophomore Brianna Flugaur played in games and had six starts as a freshman in 0-5. She recorded a career-high two runs and two hits vs. UAB on Feb. and went 6-for-0 on stolen bases. Freshman Melanie Cross was an Arizona Division II State champion as a senior and was named the team s offensive MVP. Cross is the career leader in RBIs and doubles at Cienega high school. Brooke Mann, a freshman from Monrovia, California, was first-team all-league three consecutive years. Freshman Kelly Welsh was tabbed a first-team Northern Indiana Conference selection and was named second-team allstate (Indiana). She set school record for most stolen bases and extra base hits at St. Joseph high school. Gabby Scherle, a two-time all-conference pick from Slater, Iowa, set her school record for batting average (.57) and single game stolen base record with eight stolen bases.

3 WISCONSIN SOFTBALL 05-6 PROSPECTUS WISCONSIN ROSTER ALPHABETICAL No. Name Pos. B/T Ht. Yr. Hometown 7 Arents, Samantha IF R/R 5-9 SO Corona, Calif. Berry, Taylor C R/R 5-0 JR Muscatine, Iowa 6 Christner, Katie OF R/R 5-6 SR Tinley Park, Ill. Cross, Melanie C L/R 5-6 FR Vail, Ariz. Flugaur, Brianna OF L/R 5- SO Stevens Point, Wis. 0 Heim, McKenna IF L/R 5- FR Davenport, Iowa Jenkins, Kelsey UT L/R 5-6 SO Tucson, Ariz. Lombardo, Stephanie IF L/R 6- FR New Berlin, Wis. Mann, Brooke C R/R 5- FR Monrovia, Calif. Miller, Chloe SS/C L/R 5-0 JR Bettendorf, Iowa Morrow, Angela P R/R 5-0 FR Elburn, Ill. Novak, Sara SS/UT R/R 5- JR Shorewood, Ill. Oswald, Macy UT R/R 5- SR Caseyville, Ill. 0 Scherle, Gabby OF L/R 5-5 FR Slater, Iowa. Stevens, Kirsten P L/L 5-9 JR Crystal Lake, Ill. Stewart, Taylor-Paige P/UT R/R 5-7 SR Calabasas, Calif. Van Zeeland, Ashley IF L/R 5- SR Kaukauna, Wis. 5 Watts, Mariah P/UT R/R 6-0 SO St. Petersburg, Fla. Welsh, Kelly OF R/R 5-6 FR Mishawaka, Ind. STAFF Yvette Healy Head Coach Randy Schneider Assoc. Head Coach Kirsten Verdun Assistant Coach Andie Varsho Vol. Assistant Coach Terry Gawlik Sr. Assoc. AD/SWA Lori Murphy Program Specialist Ashley Parr Athletic Trainer Jeff Zuhlke Strength Coach Kelli Grashel Communications Mindy Van Dyke Marketing Alan Zussman Academics Daniel Rohrer Compliance Bridget Woodruff Development Nancy Bee Event Management Bianca Miceli Video Coordinator Sam Wrobel Equipment NUMERICAL No. Name Pos. B/T Ht. Yr, Hometown Stevens, Kirsten P L/L 5-9 JR Crystal Lake, Ill. Jenkins, Kelsey UT L/R 5-6 SO Tucson, Ariz. Welsh, Kelly UT/OF R/R 5-6 FR Mishawaka, Ind. 5 Watts, Mariah P/UT R/R 6-0 SO St. Petersburg, Fla. 6 Christner, Katie OF R/R 5-6 SR Tinley Park, Ill. 7 Arents, Samantha IF R/R 5-9 SO Corona, Calif. Flugaur, Brianna OF L/R 5- SO Stevens Point, Wis. 0 Heim, McKenna IF L/R 5- FR Davenport, Iowa Oswald, Macy UT R/R 5- SR Caseyville, Ill. Cross, Melanie C L/R 5-6 FR Vail, Ariz. Berry, Taylor C R/R 5-0 JR Muscatine, Iowa Lombardo, Stephanie IF L/R 6- FR New Berlin, Wis. 0 Scherle, Gabby OF L/R 5-5 FR Slater, Iowa. Novak, Sara SS/P/UT R/R 5- JR Shorewood, Ill. Morrow, Angela P R/R 5-0 FR Elburn, Ill. Stewart, Taylor-Paige P/UT R/R 5-7 SR Calabasas, Calif. Miller, Chloe SS/C L/R 5-0 JR Bettendorf, Iowa Mann, Brooke C R/R 5- FR Monrovia, Calif. Van Zeeland, Ashley IF L/R 5- SR Kaukauna, Wis. PRONUNCIATION GUIDE #7 Samantha Arents Samantha AIR-ints # Brianna Flugaur floo- GAR #0 McKenna Heim Rhymes with dime # Angela Morrow more OH BY ELIGIBILITY Seniors (): Christner, Oswald, Stewart, Van Zeeland Juniors (): Berry, Miller, Novak, Stevens Sophomores (): Arents, Flugaur, Jenkins, Watts Freshmen (7): Cross, Heim, Lombardo, Mann, Morrow, Scherle, Welsh

4 WISCONSIN SOFTBALL 05-6 PROSPECTUS SIXTH SEASON Yvette Healy enters her sixth season at the helm of the program with the highest winning percentage of any UW coach in the program s 9 year history with a.609 (65-06) winning percentage. Healy entered the 05 season, having just led the team to its second consecutive NCAA Regional Championship. Healy directed the team to the NCAA tournament in back-to-back seasons, which had only been done once before by UW in 00 and 00 and only a total of three times in the history of the program. Over the last five years, the team has posted an impressive overall record and 5-5 conference record in the Big Ten under Healy. Her.57 winning percentage ranks highest in school history. In the last five seasons, Wisconsin has had four 0-plus win seasons after only previously having five 0-plus win campaigns in 5 seasons. Wisconsin has had a total of 0 first-team All-Big Ten selections in program history with eight of those coming in the Healy era. Kelsey Jenkins, who earned first-team All-Big Ten accolades in 05, is the first freshman in UW history to collect the honor. Healy has helped her players seen just as much success off the field as she has on the field. The Badgers have received a total of combined Academic All-Big Ten recognitions in the last five seasons. The 05 senior class, led by walk-on Maria Van Abel (05 All-Big Ten defensive team) along with Marissa Mersch and Megan Tancill, went down as the second-winning class in school history. In 05, the Badgers clinched the highest season on-base percentage (.9) in school history and claimed the Wisconsin single-season walks record (76). The season also the season record for stolen bases shattered ( stolen bases) along with setting the highest single-season batting average (.96). At the end of the 0 season, the Badgers finished in two final national polls for just the fourth time in the program s 9-year history and the second consecutive year. UW came in at No. in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 5 and received votes in the USA Today/NFCA Top 5 for the eighth time in the season. Wisconsin finished the 0 season at No. in the NCAA Softball Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), after facing nine of the teams who posted a higher RPI ranking. The 0 season boasted the second-highest win total (6) in school history. The Badgers defeated six ranked opponents and tied with the 997 team for the most top-5 wins in a season. UW has won four NCAA tournament games over the last two seasons, having won one in the program s first 9 years of existence. For just the second time in program history, the team achieved a pair of NCAA tournament wins matching their run in 0. The conclusion of the 0 season marked the end of incredible careers for seniors Cassandra Darrah, Mary Massei, Michelle Mueller and Stephanie Peace. Under Healy, the senior class went down in the history books as the most winningest class in UW history at -75. The 007 Horizon League Coach of the Year, Healy guided the Loyola (Ill.) Ramblers to a top-four conference finish in every season she was at the helm. She has coached four NFCA All- Mideast Region players over the last four seasons, and the team set the single-season school record for batting average (.9) in 00. Healy s team also set single-season Loyola records for stolen bases (6) and home runs (7) in 009. As Healy was winning coach of the year honors in the Horizon League in 007, the team was capturing the conference title with a -5 record. Pitcher Amy Solava was also named the league s pitcher of the year, just the third player in school history to earn the award. Off the field, Healy was instrumental in the team s community service participation. She was a part of numerous campaigns to give back, including the Strike Out Cancer Fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Healy s teams have also excelled in the classroom. The 00 team was the recipient of the 00 NCAA Academic Performance Program APR Award, while nine players in her time were named Academic All-District by ESPN the Magazine and 5 were chosen as Scholar Athletes by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. She took over as head coach at Loyola in July of 00 after spending two seasons as an assistant at her alma mater, DePaul. While with the Blue Demons, Healy coached five All-Americans as the team won the Conference USA title in 00 and 00 to make the NCAA tournament. A two time All-American and three-time Academic All-American as a player, Healy ranks second on the DePaul single-season chart with a. batting average and is the school s all-time leader with 0 stolen bases. In her senior campaign in 999, Healy led the Blue Demons to a school-record 5 victories, an NCAA Regional Championship and the College World Series as the team wrapped up the year ranked third in the nation. She earned All-Mideast Region honors on three occasions as well. Prior to her collegiate coaching career, Healy worked for the Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox Academy as Director of Marketing. She also served as head softball coach at her alma mater Providence Catholic High School, where she was the salutatorian at her graduation in 995. Healy graduated cum laude and earned her bachelor s degree in marketing and communications from DePaul in 999 and her master s in secondary education and English from DePaul in 007. She and her husband Shawn will celebrate their th wedding anniversary in August. They currently reside in Madison with their two daughters, Grace (6) and Maeve ().

5 WISCONSIN SOFTBALL 05-6 PROSPECTUS RADIO/TV ROSTER Kirsten Stevens Kelsey Jenkins Kelly Welsh 5 Mariah Watts 6 Katie Christner 7 Samantha Arents Brianna Flugaur McKenna Heim Macy Oswald Melanie Cross Angela Morrow P L/L Jr. Crystal Lake, Ill. IF R/R So. Corona, Calif. UT L/R So. Tucson, Ariz. IF L/R So. UT/OF R/R Fr. Mishakawa, Ind. IF L/R Fr. Davenport, Iowa Stevens Point, Wis. P/UT R/R So. St. Petersburg, Fla. UT R/R Sr. Caseyville, Ill. Taylor Berry Stephanie Lombardo 0 Gabby Scherle Sara Novak Taylor-Paige Stewart Chloe Miller Brooke Mann Ashley Van Zeeland C R/R Jr. Muscatine, Iowa P/UT R/R Sr. Calabasas, Calif. Yvette Healy Head Coach 6th Season IF L/R Fr. New Berlin, Wis. SS/C L/R Jr. Bettendorf, Iowa Randy Schneider Associate Head Coach 6th Season OF L/R Fr. Slater, Iowa C R/R Fr. Monrovia, Calif. Kirsten Verdun Assistant Coach st Season SS/P/UT R/R Jr. Shorewood, Ill. IF L/R Sr. Kaukauna, Wis. Andie Varsho Volunteer Coach st Season IF R/R Sr. Tinley Park, Ill. C L/R Fr. Vail, Ariz. P R/R Fr. Ellburn, Ill.