Upper Midwest Athletic Conference

St. Scholastica headlines UMAC softball awards

5/9/2011 1:38:15 PM

ST. PAUL -- In fitting fashion, the College of St. Scholastica led the pack in the 2011 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Softball Awards List, earning four first team all-conference awards and two more honorable mention accolades. The Saints won both the UMAC regular season and tournament championships and earned the league’s first-ever automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament.

Jen Falk, Brittni Johnson, Bonnie Kowalczyk and Theresa Tauer all represented St. Scholastica on the first team with Kowalczyk also being named the UMAC Player of the Year. Kowalczyk batted .463 in conference games this season to go with seven doubles, three triples and two home runs while recording 24 RBI. The sophomore placed in the top five among UMAC hitters in slugging percentage and RBIs in the batter’s box while helping the Saints lead the conference in earned run average and opposing batting average as the team’s primary catcher.

The University of Minnesota Morris, who finished second in the regular season standings, had three first team all-conference award winners while boasting the UMAC Coach of the Year in Heather Pennie. Pennie’s Cougars improved from a 12-8 mark in UMAC play a year ago to 15-6 in 2011.  Bethany Lutheran College, Northwestern College and Presentation College each had two All-UMAC First Team recipients.

A full listing of the 2011 UMAC Softball awards is below.

1st Team All-Conference
Name	Institution	Year	Position
Ashley Jensen	Bethany Lutheran College	Sophomore	Shortstop
Emily Rauchman	Bethany Lutheran College	Sophomore	Pitcher, Outfield
Jen Falk	College of St. Scholastica	Senior	Pitcher
Brittni Johnson	College of St. Scholastica	Senior	Pitcher
Bonnie Kowalczyk	College of St. Scholastica	Sophomore	Catcher
Theresa Tauer	College of St. Scholastica	Junior	Third Base
Karla Opperman	Martin Luther College	Junior	Catcher
Jeanette Wendler	Northland College	Sophomore	Infield
Jenna Ruby	Northwestern College	Senior	Catcher
Briana Rodgers	Northwestern College	Sophomore	First Base
Dana Chalupsky	Presentation College	Senior	Shortstop
Michelle Stratton	Presentation College	Sophomore	Infield, Pitcher
Diane Blommel	University of Minnesota-Morris	Senior	Third Base
Heather Briese	University of Minnesota-Morris	Senior	Outfield
Kaitlyn Randall	University of Minnesota-Morris	Freshman	Pitcher