May 5, 2008

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Western Washington University outfielder Michelle Wrigley (Fr., Bothell/Inglemoor) was a first-team choice on the Great Northwest Athletic Conference all-star softball team announced today.

Named to the second team were outfielder Lisa Pendergrast (Sr., Burlington/Burlington-Edison) and pitcher Jessica Rosencrants (Jr., Sequim/Peninsula CC), with first baseman Meghan Flem (So., Hood River, OR/Hood River Valley) and catcher Liza Teichler (Sr., Sammamish/Skyline) receiving honorable mention.

Wrigley led Western with a .336 batting average. She also had team-leading figures in runs scored (34), hits (51) and doubles (13), and committed just one error in 53 fielding chances.

Rosencrants missed nearly half the season with various injuries and illnesses. She had an 11-7 record with a 1.89 earned run average, striking out 95 and walking just 15 in 125-2/3 innings. All those figures were team bests as were her 13 completes games, three shutouts and two saves.

Pendergrast had the best season of her four-year career, hitting .300 with 19 runs batted in and 15 runs scored. She had nine doubles and three home runs, tying a school game record with two homers in the Vikings' last game.

Flem led the team in RBIs (30), on-base percentage (.387), slugging percentage (.455) and home runs (5), putting her school career homer record at 14.

Teichler hit .296 and drove in 20 runs.

Western finished 24-24 overall and placed fifth in the GNAC at 11-13.

GREAT NORTHWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Softball: Holtman, Martin, Fleer Win Top Awards

SPOKANE, Wash. - Central Washington first baseman Mallory Holtman and pitchers Erin Martin of Seattle University and Katie Fleer of Western Oregon have been selected the 2008 GNAC Softball Player-of-the-Year and Pitchers-of-the-Year, respectively.

Pam Knox, who led Western Oregon to a 30-16 record and a share of its first-ever GNAC softball title, was a near unanimous selection as the GNAC Coach-of-the-Year. Knox, a 1980 graduate of Cal State Fullerton, is in her sixth season at Western Oregon. Overall, in 14 seasons as a collegiate head coach, she now has a record of 331-306, including 131-151 at WOU.

Holtman, a 5-9 senior from White Salmon, Wash., batted .397 this spring and also had 10 home runs and 31 runs batted in. She led the conference in triples (6), total bases (109) and slugging average (.801) and ranked second in doubles (13) and home runs (10). She completed her career with a .365 batting average and a GNAC-record 35 home runs.

Martin, a 5-7 senior from Valencia, Calif., and Fleer, a 6-2 senior from Salem, Ore., led their respective teams to a share of the GNAC title and post-season playoff berths. Martin was the conference's top winner with 24 victories. She finished with a 24-4 record and a 1.85 earned run average and set conference career records for wins (88) and shutouts (36). Fleer was the conference's leader in earned run average (1.47) and posted a 18-5 record.

Fleer, a transfer from Chemeketa CC, was also named the GNAC Newcomer-of-the-Year. Montana State Billings catcher Kelly Parsons was voted the GNAC Freshman-of-the-Year. Parsons, a product of Seattle's Mount Rainier High School, batted .341 and also had nine home runs and 34 RBI.

Holtman, Martin and Fleer were among 13 players named to the GNAC first-team all-star team. Holtman was selected for the fourth time, the first softball player in GNAC history to accomplish that feat. Martin was selected for the third time.

Seattle University second baseman Jane Purdy, who is tied with Holtman for the GNAC career home run record with 35, also earned first team honors for the third time. Other repeaters from last year's first team included Western Oregon shortstop Tyler Sutherland and Central Washington outfielder Kasey Druffel. Four players - Martin, Fleer, Holtman and Purdy - were unanimous selections.

Co-league champions Seattle University and Western Oregon led the all-star selections with four and three first-team picks, respectively. Central Washington also placed three players on the first team, while Montana State Billings had two, and Western Washington had one.

2008 GNAC SOFTBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

First Team
P +**Erin Martin, Seattle, 5-7, Sr., Valencia, CA
P +Katie Fleer, Western Oregon, 6-2, Sr., Salem, OR
C Holly Rossman, Central Washington, 5-6, Jr., Olympia, WA
1B +***Mallory Holtman, Central Washington, 5-9, Sr., White Salmon, WA
2B +**Jane Purdy, Seattle University, 5-4, Sr., Missoula, MT
SS *Tyler Sutherland, Western Oregon, 5-3, So., Gold Hill, OR
3B Leslie Davis, Montana State Billings, 5-8, Jr., Federal Way, WA
IF Jessica Frank, Montana State Billings, 5-3, Sr., Great Falls, MT
OF Michelle Wrigley, Western Washington, 5-7, Fr., Bothell, WA
OF *Kasey Druffel, Central Washington, 5-6, Sr.	Colton, WA
OF Katie Antich, Seattle, 5-6, So., Spokane, WA
OF Jessica Hallmark, Western Oregon, 5-6, Fr., Salem, OR
DP Lauren Berin, Seattle, 5-3, So., Lacey, WA

Second Team
P Jessica Rosencrants, Western Washington, 5-8, Jr., Sequim, WA
P Lisa Moore, Montana State Billings, 5-6, Jr., Bakersfield, CA
P Alicia Fuchs, Saint Martin's, 5-7, Sr.	Randle, WA
C Kelly Parsons, Montana State Billings, 5-6, Fr., Seattle, WA
1B Terina Stacks, Montana State Billings, 5-7, Jr., Washougal, WA
2B Jenna Haacke, Montana State Billings, 5-10	Sr., Billings, MT
SS Holly Morris, Saint Martin's, 5-10, Jr., Richland, WA
3B Trina Dorn, Western Oregon, 5-4, Sr., Henderson, NV
IF Megan MacIsaac, Seattle, 5-10, Jr., Santa Barbara, CA
OF Lisa Pendergrast, Western Washington, 5-5, Sr., Bow, WA
OF Whitney Lee, Western Oregon, 5-6, So., Salem, OR
OF Kristine Kaneshiro, Saint Martin's, 5-7, Fr., Auburn, WA
OF Ashley Fix, Central Washington, 5-6, So., Puyallup, WA

HONORABLE MENTION: Pitchers - Kelsey Reynolds, Seattle (5-9, So., Kent, WA); Linse Vlahovich, Central Washington (5-10, Jr., Spokane Valley, WA); Brandi Klemm, Saint Martin's (5-7, Fr., Everett, WA). Catchers - Liza Teichler, Western Washington (5-5, Sr., Sammamish, WA); Jessica Amador, Seattle (5-9, Fr., Whittier, CA); Katie Free, Northwest Nazarene (5-7, Sr., Nampa, ID). First Base - Meghan Flem, Western Washington (6-0, So., Hood River, OR); Amanda Fleer, Western Oregon (6-0, So., Salem, OR). Second Base - Kristi Sigafoos, Saint Martin's (5-3, So., Federal Way, WA); Kristin Maglasang, Western Oregon (5-2, Sr., Vancouver, WA). Shortstop - Haley Hevern, Northwest Nazarene (5-6, Fr., Central Point, OR). Third Base -Jamie Foote, Seattle University (5-4, Jr., Lynnwood, WA); Logan Mohr, Central Washington (5-5, Sr., Bainbridge Island, WA). Outfielders - Stephanie Gosselin, Montana State Billings (5-7, Jr., Victoria, BC); Brenda Stice, Seattle (5-6, Sr., Poulsbo, WA); Jael Henthorn, Northwest Nazarene (5-5, Jr., Meridian, ID); Kirstin Davidson, Saint Martin's (5-7, So., Central Point, OR); Jamie Becker, Western Oregon (5-7, Sr., Salem, OR).

**Three-time Repeater (Holtman 2004, 06-07) **Two-time Repeater (Purdy 2005-06) *Repeater +Unanimous

Player-of-the-Year - Mallory Holtman, Central Washington Pitcher-of-the-Year - Erin Martin, Seattle University & Katie Fleer, Western Oregon Freshman-of-the-Year - Kelly Parsons, Montana State Billings Newcomer-of-the-Year - Katie Fleer, Western Oregon Coach-of-the-Year - Pam Knox, Western Oregon