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Somerset, NJ — On the eve of the 2007 Northeast Conference Softball Tournament, the league announced its year-end all-conference award winners in balloting conducted by head coaches. Long Island senior Randi Gillespie (San Jose, CA/West Valley CC) was chosen as the Player of the Year for the second consecutive year and following in suit, a sophomore right-handed pitcher teammate Jenny Giles (Melbourne, FL/Eau Gallie), was named Pitcher of the Year for two years in a row. Quinnipiac freshman utility player Krista Seeman (Irvine, CA/Woodbridge) was tabbed Rookie of the Year while Monmouth’s Carol Sullivan was chosen by her peers as the Coach of the Year. Monmouth and Long island led the way with six players receiving all-NEC honors, while Wagner had five players named to the all-conference squad.

The major award winners, along with the first and second all-NEC teams were announced at a banquet held for the qualifying teams. The four-team, double-elimination tournament will be contested over two days, with the championship game slated to begin on Saturday at 12:30 pm. For the second year, Long Island will be hosting the tournament, but due to commencement ceremonies on its home field, games will be played at Fairleigh Dickinson University, in Teaneck, NJ. First round tournament pairings on Saturday pit #1 Long Island against #4 Quinnipiac at 10:00 am followed by #2 Wagner facing #3 Monmouth at 12:30 pm.

Gillespie, the reigning player of the year from 2006, is Long Island’s franchise player. At the lead-off position, the three-time Player of the Week carries a .468 batting average into the postseason. She is in line to break the NEC season batting average record with a solid tournament performance. That mark ranks her sixth in the country and tops the conference, while also tallying a league-best 74 hits. The senior ranks first in slugging percentage (.722) and total bases (114). Gillespie ends her collegiate career a three-time first team honoree.

Giles, a two-time Pitcher of the Year, has the second-lowest ERA in the conference at 1.82 while touting 16 wins in 33 appearances. The Florida native has allowed only 153 hits while striking out 109. The right-handed hurler has held batters to a paltry .229 batting average and has allowed 45 earned runs. One of the most controlled pitchers in the league, Giles has given out only 25 free passes to batters in 173.0 innings of work.

A prolific hitter who also shines from the pitcher’s circle, Seeman quickly established herself as one of the top players in the conference. In her rookie campaign, Seeman batted .380 while drilling a league-leading 10 homers. She ranks tied for third in RBI’s with 34. From the pitchers’ circle the Irvine, CA native has appeared in 22 games, garnering 10 wins to go along with an ERA of 1.97 (fourth in the conference). She has only allowed 11 extra base hits while holding opposing batters to a .204 batting average.

Sullivan’s selection by her peers is her first, and Monmouth’s first since the 1995 season when Chris Wajda earned the honor. After a two year absence from postseason play, Sullivan guided her team to a 30-16 record, and were 13-5 in league play. The Hawks ended up tied for second place and earned the third seed going into the tournament. Sullivan has developed her team into one of the top offensive threats in the country as her team is ranked fourth nationally in batting average (.331) and is ranked ninth in scoring (6.26 runs per game). Monmouth also carries a league-best 440 hits and 288 runs. Under her direction, Monmouth placed six players on the all-conference team.

Nine other players join the major award winners on the all-NEC first team. The first team sees six players return, one jump from the 2006 second team, two freshman and three players receiving the honor for the first time.

Vanessa Mejia (Roanoke, VA/ Los Angels Valley College) joins Blackbirds Giles and Gillespie for the second consecutive year on the first team. Mejia made a transition from the DP last year, to a solid third baseman this year. Mejia sits right above .300 in batting average (.308) and has brought around her teammates 27 times. Another LIU honoree, junior Celina Castillo (Bay Area, CA/Carlmont) earns a spot on the first team for her first honor. A short stop who primarily bats from the clean up spot, Castillo carries a .333 batting average and has drilled 12 doubles for a total base count of 70.

Monmouth places five all-stars on the first team. After earning second team honors last year, Heather Gordon (Hatboro, PA/Mount St. Joseph’s) stepped up her game during her senior campaign to be named all-first team for the third time in her stellar career. The centerfielder leads the league in RBI’s (63) and doubles (17) and ranks second in batting average (.447). While blasting eight homers, Gordon has tallied 108 total bases. Gordon cracks the national-ranking charts in batting average (fifteenth) and doubles (fifth). Her RBI per game average (1.37) sits her second in the nation. Hawk sophomores Nichole Alvarez (Brick, NJ/Brick Township) and Lee Simonetti (Poughkeepisie, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes) repeat first-team honors, as the duo was named to the team last year. Alvarez sits right behind Gordon, batting .418 and is lethal when reaching base, having stolen 40 out of 42 attempts. Alvarez leads the nation in runs per game (1.27) and is second in stolen bases per game (.91). Simonetti is a model of consistency for the Hawks, having started in every game at second base this year while keeping up a batting average of .340. Hawk sophomore Kristine Sawlsville (Wyomissing, PA/Wilson) earns first team honors for the first time. In 137.2 innings of work, Sawlsville has tallied an overall record of 16-6 while recording an NEC-low ERA of 1.58. She has also fanned 153 batters, second best in the league. In her inaugural campaign, freshman Jessica Nicola (South Amboy, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial) earns all-NEC first team honors. The rookie is currently batting .392 while ranking fourth in hits (60) and third in total bases (90) in the conference.

Robert Morris sophomore Brooke Panepinto (Belle Vernon, PA/Belle Vernon) makes up the third outfielder on the first team. Panepinto has carried the Colonials with the conference’s fourth-best batting average (.398) while blasting a fourth-best seven homeruns. She has tallied 20 extra base hits good for a total base tally of 83.

In the designated player position, Pam Shifrin (Townsend, MA/North Middlesex) rounds out the first team and is Central Connecticut State’s lone representative. In her senior campaign, Shifrin batted .303 with seven homeruns and 24 RBI’s. She is also the most selective batter in the conference, earning 26 walks to help increase her on base percentage to .432.

Wagner placed an NEC-high five players on the second team including senior pitcher Morgan Miller (Las Vegas, NV/Silverado). Miller has earned postseason honors each of her four years during her stellar campaign. This season, Miller holds a 14-8 overall record and has limited batters to 51 earned runs for an ERA of 2.30. She has fanned 81 batters, while catching 38 looking. Third baseman Joy Gallagher (Hazleton, PA/Hazelton), who made the switch from shortstop to third base, earns second team honors for the second consecutive year. The grad student ranks third on the team in batting average (.316) and has tallied 23 hits. Also joining Gallagher for the second year is sophomore designated player Jaclyn Vanore (Palisades Park, NJ/Paramus Catholic). Vanore batted just over .300 this season (.308) while stepping in with 10 extra base hits. Junior shortstop Katie Stevens (Reno, NV/McQueen) and freshman utility Kate Eshelman (Reno, NV/McQueen) round out the Seahawk’s all-star honorees. Stevens leads the squad in batting average (.392) and ranks in the top five in the conference in hits (fifth-56), runs scored (fourth-39) and RBI’s (tied for third-34). Eshelman, meanwhile, produces from a variety of positions as the rookie owns a .301 batting average with 17 extra base hits while carrying a 13-6 record with an ERA of 2.93 from the mound.

Also in the pitcher’s circle, a from Long Island, Blair Porter (Redmond, WA/Redmond) makes the second team. The right-handed pitcher leads the conference in strike outs (154) and is tied for second in wins (14). The freshman started 23 games for the Blackbirds and has sported an ERA of 2.30.

From Monmouth junior first baseman Kara O’Dell (Henderson, NV/Green Valley) is the Hawk’s sole representation on the second team. O’Dell cracks the conference top-10 in batting average, as the junior sits ninth at .350. She has smacked 13 extra base hits and batted 28 of her teammates in.

Senior second baseman Allie Falco (Whitestone, NY/Bayside) and junior outfielder Karen Costes (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) comprise the Central Connecticut State contingent represented on the second team. Costes sits second on the squad in batting (.300), while Falco tallied seven doubles on the year.

Quinnipiac senior Maria Browne (Park Ridge, NJ/Park Ridge) and Long Island junior Brittany Murphy (Los Alamitos, CA/Los Alamitos) make up the remaining outfielders on the second team. Browne is second best on the team in batting average (.261) and runs (20) while Murphy batted .285, reaching base safely 41 times.

Robert Morris senior Jill Dorsch (Sewickley, PA/North Allegheny) rounds out the second team at the catcher position. A steady defender, Dorsch has not allowed one passed ball. Offensively, she sits right outside the conference top-10 in batting average, as a .343 mark puts her 11th.

The four-team, double-elimination 2007 Northeast Conference Softball Tournament will commence on Friday, May 11 with opening round action featuring #1 Long island against #4 Quinnipiac at 10:00 am followed by #2 Robert Morris against #3 Wagner at 12:30 pm. The championship game is scheduled for 12:30 pm on Saturday, May 12. The tournament is being hosted by Long Island and is being held on the campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ.

For game recaps and box scores, long onto the NEC official website at www.northeastconference.org.