Conference USA Announces Softball Awards
May 09, 2001 | Softball
May 9, 2001
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - DePaul coach Eugene Lenti and freshman pitcher/outfielder Sarah Martz, who led the No. 13 Blue Demons to their first Conference USA regular season championship, are the league's Coach of the Year and Player of the Year, respectively. Martz, who leads the league in three offensive categories, was also tabbed C-USA's Freshman of the Year, while Southern Miss pitcher Felicia Gonzales, who has tossed four no-hitters this spring, was named the Pitcher of the Year.
Conference USA announced its major award winners and all-league teams, chosen by C-USA's eight head coaches, at its pre-tournament banquet Wednesday evening at Masterson's Restaurant. The 2001 Conference USA Tournament, presented by U of L Health Care, will take place May 10-12 at Ulmer Stadium.
Lenti, who recorded the 675th win of his head coaching career when DePaul defeated South Florida, 2-0 on May 6, has led his team to 40 wins for six straight years and seven of the last eight. Since 1997, DePaul is 230-72-1 overall and 75-4 in conference (Mid-Continent and Conference USA) games. Although this is his first C-USA Coach of the Year Award, he has won six conference coach of the year awards (North Star, Mid-Continent and Conference USA) in the last 11 years. Lenti also led the Blue Demons to the 1999 and 2000 Women's College World Series.
Martz has made her presence felt both at the plate and from the pitching circle. She currently leads Conference USA in batting average (.396), hits (73) and a league-record seven triples. She has 24 multi-hit games and was named C-USA Hitter of the Week on April 30 after hitting .526 with a .684 slugging percentage and a .625 on base percentage. She is one of only two pitchers to record at least one win over every league team, setting a school freshman record with 24 victories. Her 0.88 ERA is 25th in the nation, and her 190 strikeouts are second-best in school history, five shy of the school record. This is the second straight year that a DePaul player has been named Conference USA Freshman of the Year. Lindsay Chouinard was the inaugural winner last year.
With the graduation of 2000 Honda Award winner and NCAA career strikeout leader Courtney Blades, Gonzales has stepped up as the Golden Eagles' primary pitcher. She is currently first in the league in five categories - opposing batting average (.146), innings pitched (228.2), strikeouts (336), batters struck out looking (85) and wins (26). The junior has thrown four of the 12 no-hitters in Conference USA this spring, including a perfect game against Jacksonville State on March 18. She also broke Blades' league games only record for innings pitched (99.2).
Nationally-ranked DePaul (No. 13 in this week's NFCA poll), led the way with five first team all-conference selections. Southern Miss followed with three, South Florida and Louisville had two and Houston and Saint Louis each placed one player on the first team.
2001 CONFERENCE USA SOFTBALL AWARDS
First-Team All-Conference USA
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C: Gina Ramacci, DePaul
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IF: Tammy Edwards, Southern Miss
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IF: Chanikka Gant, Southern Miss
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IF: Ginny Georgantas, South Florida
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IF: Melissa Jacobo, Louisville
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IF: Renee Oursler, South Florida
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OF: Keola Calderon, Louisville
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OF: Shavaughne Desecki, DePaul
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OF: Dana Jakusz, DePaul
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OF: Erin Jeffery, Saint Louis
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P: Lindsay Chouinard, DePaul
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P: Felicia Gonzales, Southern Miss
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UT: Sarah Martz, DePaul
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DP: Arelis Ferreris, Houston
Second-Team All-Conference USA
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C: Priscilla Smith, South Florida
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IF: Liz Bouck, DePaul
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IF: Sarah Douglas, DePaul
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IF: Candice Hithe, UAB
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IF: Nicole Sparks, Louisville
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IF: Cindy Turek, South Florida
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OF: Amanda Brown, Southern Miss
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OF: Coleen Coughlin, Louisville
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OF: Cliffanie Engram, UAB
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OF: Candi Padilla, Louisville
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P: Jessi Kowal, South Florida
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P: Tara McClure, Louisville
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UT: Ali McDougall, Houston
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DP:Nicole Bohnenstiehl, Saint Louis
Conference USA All-Freshmen Team
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C: Amanda Ellis, UAB
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IF: Sarah Douglas, DePaul
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IF: Beth Mullins, UAB
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IF: Rena Rodriguez, South Florida
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IF: Cindy Turek, South Florida
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OF: Heather Bell, Southern Miss
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OF: Shelly Riker, South Florida
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OF: Emily Scarbrough, UAB
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P: Meliissa Cundiff, Southern Miss
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P: Jamie Falco, Houston
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UT: Sarah Martz, DePaul
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DP: Arelis Ferreris, Houston
Freshman of the Year: Sarah Martz, DePaul
Pitcher of the Year: Felicia Gonzales, Southern Miss
Player of the Year: Sarah Martz, DePaul
Coach of the Year: Eugene Lenti, DePaul
