Sporty Saturday Spotlight 10-17-09

This Saturday the sporty spotlight shines bright on Pennsylvania pitcher and 2009 Patriot News Player to Watch, Hanna Bennett. Hanna shares two amazing pics, her work ethic, the importance of heart, and much more. Check out her insightful interview below.

Name: Hanna Bennett

Age: 16

Sport(s): Fastpitch Softball

Hometown: Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

High School/Middle School/College: Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School

Number: 12

Position: Pitcher

What’s your fave sport? Softball

How many years have you been playing your fave sport? 8 years

What is your fave sporty moment or memory?

Making my high schools varsity team my freshman year.

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned from playing your sport?

That sometimes it’s not how good you are its how bad you and your teammates want it.

What lessons have you learned about work ethic from your sport?

That you only become good if you work hard. You’re not going to get any better by just sitting around.

What have you learned about teamwork?

That everyone on your team has to want to be a team you can’t just have some people wanting to be a team and other people not wanting to be a team, because it won’t work if its like that.

How do you balance school and sports?

It’s definitely hard, but I have a weekly scheduler that my dad and I sit down with at the beginning of each week and plan out the days I have work, the days I have softball practice/pitching lessons and the day I have to go to the gym. So keeping a schedule has definitely helped me a lot, so I’m able to see it visually.

List some awards or accolades you’ve received.

Freshman Year:

Freshman Varsity Letter

Sophomore Year:

Patriot News Player to Watch

Patriot News Top 10 Pitcher

1^st Team Mid-Penn Keystone Division All Star

Varsity Letter

Who’s your fave athlete, both male and female?

Male- Aaron Rowand

Female- Cat Osterman

What’s the girliest thing you like to do?

I like to just chill at my pool with my friends and tan. I could seriously do that all day.

Thanks, Hanna! Fabulous advice – hard work is definitely uber important, along with teamwork and heart. Looks like you’re definitely a softball superstar on the rise and congrats on your accomplishments. Best of luck with your career.

Do you want to be spotlighted? Send an email to kerimikulski(at)gmail(dot)com.

Happy Saturday!

Rockford Thunder wins 2009 NPF Championship

AKRON, Ohio – The Rockford Thunder captured their first Cowles Cup at Firestone Stadium on Sunday afternoon crowning them the 2009 NPF Champions as they defeated the USSSA Pride 2-0 in the final game of the season.  Rockford climbed back from a 1-0 deficit and near elimination to win both of their series on the weekend and become champions.

Cat Osterman led the way with her second complete game shut out of the day only allowing the Pride to have one single and a walk on the day.  Between the two games on Sunday, Osterman struck out an amazing 26 batters and only gave up four hits.  For the tournament, Osterman struck out 50 batters in 31 innings in five starts, pitching 31 of her team’s 41 innings.

The only player to get on for the Pride in game three was Oli Keohohou who drew a walk and hit an infield single that bounced off of Osterman’s glove in the fifth inning.

The Thunder picked up enough offense for Osterman against tough pitching by Sarah Pauly and Monica Abbott.  Leadoff hitter Shanel Scott got Rockford going right away with a hit to left field just past a diving Kristin Schnake.  Scott would eventually score on a sacrifice bunt by Lyndsey Angus to give Rockford a 1-0 lead.  For good measure, Chelsea Spencer added another run when she blasted a towering shot that soared over the center field fence for a solo home run.

The home run would be the last pitch Pauly threw as the Pride turned to Abbott, who shut down Rockford’s offense the rest of the way.  Abbott gave up a signle to the first hitter she faced, but then retired 12 of the next 13 hitters to close out the game.  Even though Abbott kept the Pride close, Osterman wouldn’t allow the Pride offense an opportunity to get back in the game.

Following the Championship Game, Osterman was announced as the MVP of the NPF Championship Series presented by The Game after picking up all of her team’s victories.  The Thunder ace only gave up an astonishing two runs, one earned, in her five starts of the tournament

(via press release)

NPF Championship Series opens today

Hey softball fans. Join the Regular Season Champions, the Chicago Bandits as they defend their 2008 NPF Championship Series title against the Akron Racers, Rockford Thunder and USSSA Pride at the NPF Championship Series…Firestone Stadium , Akron, Ohio, August 20-23, 2009.

Focus is on the future for National Pro Fastpitch

MLB’S STATEMENT REGARDING THE IOC’S DECISION

Honda Award Winners – Best Female Collegiate Athletes

For the 24th consecutive year, Honda has honored the most outstanding female collegiate athletes in the nation with the Collegiate Women Sports Awards.

Winners are selected in each of the 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports by a panel of more than 1,000 NCAA administrators.

Each year, one deserving athlete is also chosen as the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year to receive the coveted Honda-Broderick Cup. This  winner will be announced June 22 in New York.

So, without further ado. The 2009 Honda Award Winners are (drum roll….)

Basketball: Renee Montgomery, UConn senior

Montgomery, a four-year starter as point guard for the Huskies, was the #4 draft WNBA pick this year, chosen by the Minnesota Lynx. A native of St. Albans, West Virginia, she captained her team to an undefeated season this year, culminating with the NCAA championship in which she scored 18 points in the final game.

Other nominees included Angel McCoughtry from the University of Louisville, teammate Maya Moore from the University of Connecticut and Courtney Paris from University of Oklahoma.

Cross-Country: Sally Kipyego,  Texas Tech University senior

Kipyego has been chosen for the third year in a row as the nation’s top collegiate female cross-country athlete. The senior, who  is majoring in nursing, finished her college cross-country career with one of her school’s most impressive athletic records ever. She went undefeated in her three years at Texas Tech and is the most decorated female student-athlete in NCAA Division I cross-country history.

Field Hockey: Susie Rowe, University of Maryland senior

A native of London, England, Terrapin co-captain Rowe is a three-time first-team All-American who led her team to its sixth National title this year (third on her watch), scoring the game’s winning goal to top off her 28-goal, 74-point season, both school records. She was also named the ACC Tournament MVP for the second time, making her only the fifth two-time winner in conference history, as well as ACC Defensive Player of Year.

Other nominees include Jen Long from Penn State, Lauren Pfeiffer from University of Iowa and Shannon Taylor from Syracuse.

Golf: Maria Hernandez, Purdue University senior

Ranked #7 in the nation, Hernandez won six of 12 tournaments this season, with a low round of 67 and a 72.8 stroke average for the season. She recorded a career low of 66 on three occasions, including in 2008 to earn the best third-round score in Big Ten Championships history.

Other nominees included Carlota Ciganda, a freshman at Arizona State University, as well as University of Southern California freshman Jennifer Song and sophomore Lizette Salas.

Gymnastics: Courtney Kupets, University of Georgia senior

Winner of both a Silver and Bronze Medal at the 2004 Olympics as well as the 2007 Honda Award, Kupets was also nominated in 2006.

Other nominees include Kristina Baskett, University of Utah, Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, Louisiana State University and Jessica Lopez from University of Denver.

Lacrosse: Hannah Nielse, Northwestern senior

The Australian helped lead her team to its fifth straight NCAA title. She had six assists in the 21-7 win over North Carolina in the championship game. She also led the nation with 142 points and 83 assists, breaking the previous NCAA record for assists in a season (69) that she set in 2007.

Other nominees for the award included Notre Dame’s Jillian Byers, North Carolina’s Amber Falcone and Maryland’s Caitlyn McFadden.

Soccer: Casey Nogueira, University of North Carolina junior

Nogueira resides in Raleigh, North Carolina. The 5′6″ forward scored two second-half goals to lead her Tar Heels to an upset win in last season’s NCAA Championship game, earning her NCAA Tournament offensive MVP honors. She led the nation last season with 58 points and 25 goals, seven of them game winners.

Other nominees included Kerri Hanks and Brittany Bock, both Notre Dame seniors; and Christina Di Martino, a senior at UCLA.

Softball: Danielle Lawrie, Washington junior

The Canadian helped the Huskies win their first national championship in June. Lawrie had a nation-leading 42 wins and 521 strikeouts. The 5-foot-7 right-hander redshirted during the 2008 season to play for her country at the Beijing Olympics, where Canada came in fourth.

The other three finalists were Florida’s Stacey Nelson, Arizona State’s Kaitlin Cochran and Northwestern’s Tammy Williams.

Swim/Dive:   Dana Vollmer, University of California senior

Vollmer, who transferred to Berkeley from the University of Florida, was named the 2009 NCAA Swimmer of the Year after claiming individual titles in both the 100- and 200-yard freestyle events at the 2009 NCAA Championships and helping lead her team to its first ever National Championship.

Other nominees include Julia Smit, a junior at Stanford University; Rebecca Soni, a University of Southern California senior and Gemma Spofforth, a junior at the University of Florida.

Tennis: Mallory Cecil, Duke freshman

From Spartanburg, S.C., Cecil had a 32-4 record in leading Duke to the NCAA team title. She beat out three other finalists — Aurelija Miseviciute of Arkansas, Maria Mosolova of Northwestern and Laura Vallverdu of Miami.

Track & Field: Jenny Barringer, University of Colorado senior.

Barringer competed for the U.S. Olympic team at the 2008 Games in Beijing and finished ninth in the 3,000m steeplechase, setting an American record of 9 minutes, 22.26 seconds. She is a four-time All-American USTFCCCA and Big 12 Women’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, as well as a four-time Midwest Region Steeplechase Champion and three-time Big 12 Champion.

Other nominees included Sarah Bowman, a senior at the University of Tennessee, Tiffany Ofili, a senior at the University of Michigan and Blessing Okagbare, a junior at the University of Texas, El Paso.

Volleyball: Nicole Fawcett, Penn State senior

A 6′4″ left-side hitter, Fawcett is a native of Zanesfield, Ohio. She led the Lions last season to their second consecutive NCAA title, serving the championship point, and helped her team become the first-ever with a no-loss regular season record (96-0). The AVCA National Player of the Year, Fawcett was also named the Big Ten Player of the Year and is a three-time AVCA First Team All-America selection.

Other nominees included Foluke Akinradewo, a senior at Stanford University (and last year’s Honda Sports Award winner), Christa Harmotto, a fellow Penn State senior and Honda Sports award nominee for the second straight year and Destinee Hooker, a junior at the University of Texas.

Past Honda-Broderick Cup Winners

Candace Parker		2007-08		University of Tennessee, Basketball
Sarah Pavan		2006-07		University of Nebraska, Volleyball
Christine Sinclair		2005-06		The University of Portland, Soccer
Ogonna Nnamani		2004-05		Stanford University, Volleyball
Tara Kirk		2003-04		Stanford University, Swimming & Diving
Natasha Watley		2002-03		University of California, Los Angeles, Softball
Angela Williams		2001-02		University of Southern California, Track & Field
Jackie Stiles		2000-01		Southwest Missouri State, Basketball
Cristina Teuscher		1999-00		Columbia University, Swimming & Diving
Misty May		1998-99		Long Beach State University, Volleyball
Chamique Holdsclaw		1997-98		University of Tennessee, Basketball
Cindy Daws		1996-97		University of Notre Dame, Soccer

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Washington edges Florida to claim first NCAA softball title

Wow! What a dramatic series. I’ve been glued to the TV the last week watching some of the best college softball players in the country battle it out for the crown.

Last night, Kimi Pohlman raced home, giving Washington the decisive run in a 3-2 victory for its first NCAA softball championship.

Washington (51-12) kept the championship in the Pac-10 by keeping Florida from bringing the Southeastern Conference its first title. The Pac-10 has won 21 of the 27 Women’s College World Series titles, with Arizona State and Washington joining powerhouses UCLA (11 championships) and Arizona (eight) the past two years.

Huskies players tossed their gloves into the air and gathered in a huddle near home plate after Lawrie struck out Ali Gardiner to end the game. (The same Gardiner who hit a walk-off grand slam allowing the Gators to get into the final). The huddle of players soon fell over onto the ground after being handed the NCAA championship trophy.

Women’s College World Series: As good as it gets

The Women’s College World Series has been so full of great softball this year. If you haven’t been watching, you’re seriously missing out. So far the series has been a dazzling display of drama. A walk off grand-slam by a Florida senior who was 0-9 for the series to oust Alabama may have been the highlight.

If you didn’t catch it, let’s recap: With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Alabama held a 5-2 lead over top-seeded Florida. But with one swing of the bat, Ali Gardiner unloaded the bases for a walk-off grand slam, sending the Gators into the WCWS finals.

The Washington v. Georgia semi-final series was no less exciting. Despite two home runs and a WCWS record seven RBI from freshman Niki Williams, the Washington Huskies fell to Georgia, 9-8, in a wild World Series game Sunday at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.

The win by Georgia, which was facing elimination, forced a deciding game with Washington advancing to the championship series which starts tonight at 8:00 CT (ESPN).

Leading up to the finals, there were lots of memorable moments. Take Georgia’s relief pitcher Taylor Schlopy who homered twice in consecutive at-bats to help the team beat Michigan.  And how about UW pitcher Danielle Lawrie who threw a five-hitter and helped her team out on offense with a Grand Slam in the semis?

Now fighting for the championship are the Washington Huskies and the Florida Gators. Neither program has ever won a WCWS title, so it’ll be a first for either program.

The No. 1 ranked Gators have just three loses all season. The odds were completely against Alabama in the semi-final when they were faced with the challenge of having to beat them twice in one day to get into the championship. Having only dropped three games all season, it was highly unlikely that they were going to lose two in one day.

Last week, the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA)  announced the selection of  Washington’s Lawrie  as the recipient of the 8th Annual USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award. The Pac-10 leader in wins, ERA, strikeouts and shutouts, Washington’s Lawrie is also among the nation’s top three in all four categories.

Lawrie, a British Columbia native, is an international veteran having spent a year with the Canadian national team.  In the WCWS, she’ll square off against Stacey Nelson. Nelson confounds hitters with an array of pitches and leaves them guessing at which they can hit and which will result in little more than weak pop outs or ground outs.

Tune in tonight and stay on top of the complete schedule and results with the following links.

• 2009 bracket
• 2009 schedule and results
• NCAA tourney coverage

Pomp and Circumstance: Athletes Graduate

It’s that time of year. All across the country,  graduations are taking place.  But when they play “Pomp and Circumstance” and call the roll, there will be a number of no-shows at many of these graduation ceremonies.

Why miss graduation? Well, for student-athletes it can be a busy time of year. Some are participating in post-season play and others are transitioning into their professional careers.

Former Oklahoma women’s basketball stars Courtney and Ashley Paris are two who will not be donning a cap and gown this year. OU’s ceremony is Saturday and the sisters are due to start WNBA training camps on Sunday.

With the camps on the West Coast the two don’t want to travel so soon before practice starts. Courtney was a first-round draft pick of the Sacramento Monarchs and Ashley was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks.

Courtney says she’s not happy about missing the graduation ceremony but the decision is best because of the short amount of time involved.

Other student-athletes are faced with similar dilemmas. Four University of Houston-Victoria softball players are choosing their jerseys over a cap and gown.

Sam Campagna, Lauren Garza, Lindsey Ferguson and Kristen Lindley will graduate on Saturday, but instead of attending their graduation, they’ll be playing in the NAIA National Softball Tournament in Decatur, Ala.

Similarly, there will be four no-shows at Mesa State College’s graduation. Seniors Meagan Hennessy, Jamie Prather, Kristen Silva and Jessica Rayman will be celebrating graduation on the diamond, preparing to play the second game of the NCAA Division II Super Regional 3 tournament, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Duke University’s official graduation ceremony was held last Sunday inside Wallace Wade Stadium, but seniors on the women’s lacrosse team were hosting the opening round of the NCAA Tournament (defeating Virginia 15-13 in overtime).  Luckily, Duke holds a special graduation ceremony for student athletes unable to attend the main graduation.

Former LSU women’s basketball standout Sylvia Fowles will return to campus to graduate this week, according to the Athletics Department. The former Olympic gold medalist, All-American, NCAA Defensive Player of the Year, Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, WNBA first-round draft pick and All-Rookie Team member, EuroLeague Center of the Year, who was two credits shy of graduation when she left school,  said the degree will be a crowning achievement on an already illustrious career.

So which schools do the best job of graduating female athletes? In general, female athletes graduate at a much higher rate than their male counterparts.

With this summer’s graduations of two former basketball players, Georgia coach Andy Landers’ 30-year streak is intact. Fifty-three of his 54 four-year letter winners will have graduated by August; the 54th will wrap up after a one-year internship ends in May 2010.

Lady Hardmon Grooms,  who played at Georgia from 1988-1992, wasn’t exactly on the college graduation fast track. But in August, after this summer’s internship, the former UGA basketball player will finish her long pursuit.

And 12 years after shedding her UGA uniform for those of professional teams around the world, Kedra Holland-Corn will finally get to wear her cap and gown.

Slow and steady, fast and furious, it doesn’t matter. UGA women are unbeaten in their graduation record.

The UConn Husky women’s basketball team also has a pretty good record. Just last month, the National Champions were recognized by the NCAA for top academic performance as a team.  And over the course of 24 seasons, Coach Geno Auriemma’s players have had a 100-percent graduation rate. Renee Montgomery, recently drafted by the Minnesota Lynx,  is among this year’s graduating seniors.  She became the first Husky to have her jersey retired before graduation.

Earlier this month the NCAA released its annual grades known as ”Academic Progress Rates,” a rolling four year measure of Division I athletes’ basic progress toward graduation.

APR scores are calculated by a point system that measures each athlete’s eligibility, retention and graduation in school. For falling below the 925 standard, programs can suffer immediate penalties ranging from loss of scholarships and practice time to a ban on postseason play.

Among the squads with a perfect APR score were Penn State’s women’s field hockey lacrosse, and tennis  teams. Only 7.2 percent of the nation’s 6,323 teams in the survey earned a four-year APR score of 1,000.

Congratulations to the Penn State women’s teams and good luck to all the graduates, even if you go pro in something other than sports!

Pretty Tough Tuesday: Fastpitch 411

Get caught up with the week in fastpitch.

1. The countdown begins for the 2009 College World Series. Find out who made the tournament and the pairings here.

2. The top ten finalists for the 2009 USA Softball Player of the Year Award were announced. Check out the complete list.

3. Looking to catch a game? Check out this week’s softball television schedule.

4. Does the weight of a bat affect bat speed? Take a look at this Fastpitch TV episode.

Have a fabulous week, everyone!

State: a fastpitch feature film

If you thought winning a State Championship was hard, try getting a feature film made. The biggest challenge for any movie is to raise the necessary production funds.

That’s exactly the challenge facing a group of Louisiana filmmakers. Their dream is to make the film STATE, a story inspired by the lives of two very dynamic and successful fast-pitch softball coaches.

Residents of Ascension parish in Louisiana were devastated to hear the news that arch rival coaches, Jimmy Iturralde and Ed Aycock, both had terminal cancer and only months to live. The lives of these two men is the inspiration behind STATE and serve as a tribute to their passion for life and the athletes they coached.

The production team says: “It has become our passion to tell the inspiring story of STATE. We look forward to seeing this movie become a reality. Along with Tom McCarthy and the PFX Tour athletes, we believe this movie can impact the sport of girl’s fast pitch softball and provide a positive role model for young female athletes. We’ve discovered a glaring gap of positive sports movies for the young female athlete and the international demand for inspirational sports movies that feature female athlete as the primary actors.

Our goals for this movie are very simple. We desire to honor this sport and provide positive role models for young female athletes.”

Hollywood may seem like the obvious first stop to get a film financed but studios aren’t too keen on trying something new. And a girls softball film has never been made before.

In an effort to get Hollywood to believe that girls fastpitch has a big enough fan base to support a movie, the production team has created an innovative way for you to help. They’ve set up an online destination statethemovie.net  for girls and fastpitch fans to have their voices heard. They’ve also established a Facebook Page where fans can show their support. Help make STATE.

Check out current and former players like Dot Richardson and Lisa Fernandez talking about the film:

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