BURLINGTON, Vt.— Regular-season champion Boston University took each of the top three America East Softball individual player honors as first-year shortstop Jamie Haas was named Player of the Year, junior Robyn Horrick was chosen Pitcher of the Year and first-year utility player Julie Henneke was selected Rookie of the Year. University of Maine head coach Deb Smith was named Coach of the Year. The awards, which are determined by votes of the conference's head coaches, were announced at the annual America East Softball Banquet.
Haas, who leads the conference in average (.396), hits (57) and triples (6), is the first rookie in America East history to win the Player of the Year award, which was first handed out in 1992.
Horrick, the Rookie of the Year in 2000, becomes just the second player in conference history to win the top rookie honor and later win either Player or Pitcher of the Year, joining Drexel's Lori Swanson who was Rookie of the Year in 1997 and Pitcher of the Year in 1999. Horrick is 11-6 with a conference-leading 0.88 earned run average. She has struck out 143 and walked 33 in 128 innings of work.
Henneke enjoyed a solid rookie season at both the plate and in the circle. She is batting .324, fourth in America East, and is second in the conference in earned run average (0.96). She is 8-4 with 98 strikeouts in 87.2 innings.
Smith, now in her third season as head coach, has guided the Black Bears to a 13-11 mark in America East as the conference's No. 3 seed in the championship. Maine is 26-29 overall. Smith shared the America East Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year honors while at Maine in 1994. She is the first former America East all-conference player to be named Coach of the Year in any of the conference's 21 sports.
Haas is joined in the infield on the all-conference first team by rookie Kristen Brust of Stony Brook University at first base, rookie Mallory Rapoza of University of Hartford at second base and senior Leigh Ann Hlywak of Maine at third base. Brust led the Seawolves in hitting at .280 and added a team-high 14 doubles, currently second in America East. Rapoza is batting .255 and has been an offensive catalyst for the Hawks with eight stolen bases. Hlywak, who was also a first-team choice as a rookie in 1999 and earned second team honors in both 2000 and 2001, is batting .318 and leads America East with 11 home runs, 34 RBI and 103 total bases.
The first-team outfield includes rookies Jess Brady of Maine and Stephanie DiBiase of Stony Brook and junior Monica Evrard of Hartford. Brady is batting .303 with nine stolen bases. DiBiase batted .338, presently third in America East, and had nine doubles, six home runs and 20 stolen bases in 22 attempts. Evrard is batting .296 with eight doubles and 19 RBI.
The first-team catcher is Jessica Chellis of Binghamton University, who batted .318, currently fifth in America East, with six home runs and 29 RBI.
Horrick is joined in the circle by Stephanie Poetzsch of Stony Brook, who finished the year with a 19-15 record, a 1.33 earned run average and a conference-leading 282 strikeouts in 236.2 innings pitched.
Graduate student Margaret Yerdon of Binghamton, who batted .295 with 14 RBI, is the first-team designated player.
Senior Liz Nadeau of Hartford, who leads the Hawks and ranks second in America East with a .380 average at the plate, and is 9-7 with a 1.23 earned run average in the circle, is the utility player. She has 15 stolen bases in 21 attempts.
Henneke and rookie pitcher Jenna Merchant and senior shortstop Erica Sobel, both of Maine, were named to the first team as at-large choices. Merchant is 17-10 with a 1.44 earned run average. She has 144 strikeouts in 204.1 innings. Sobel, who was named to the first-team for the third time in her career (1999, 2000) after earning second-team honors last season, is hitting .312 for the Black Bears with a conference-leading 15 doubles and 26 RBI, third in America East.
The second team includes pitchers Tiffany Finateri of Boston University and Andi Miller of Hartford and catcher Amy Sullivan of Hartford. Katie Churchill of Maine was chosen at first base, Megan Craft of University at Albany at second base, Jennifer Richardson of Binghamton at third base, and Valerie Terry of Albany, who leads America East with 35 stolen bases, at shortstop. The second-team outfield includes Leigh Ann Savidge of Binghamton, DeKenya Williams of Boston University and Aliesha Rautenberg of Maine. Megan Long of University of Vermont is the second-team designated player.
The all-rookie team, chosen regardless of position, includes Haas, Henneke, Williams, Rapoza, Sullivan, Merchant, Brady, DiBiase, Brust, Long, Liz Borawski of Hartford and Lindsay Tibbetts of Maine.
Ten of the first-team all-conference choices and eight of the second-team selections will be in action this week at the America East Softball Championship at Post Field on the Vermont campus. No. 1 seed Boston University plays No. 4 Albany at 12 noon Thursday followed by No. 2 Hartford vs. No. 3 Maine. The four-team, double-elimination championship continues Friday and Saturday.
First Team
Player School Cl. Pos. Hometown/High School
Robyn Horrick (1) Boston U. Jr. P Irvine, Calif./Irvine
Stephanie Poetzsch Stony Brook Sr. P East Islip, N.Y./East Islip
Jessica Chellis Binghamton So. C Tunkhannock, Pa./Yunkhannock
Kristen Brust Stony Brook Fr. 1B Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem
Mallory Rapoza Hartford Fr. 2B Assonet, Mass./Apponequet Regional
Leigh Ann Hlywak (2) Maine Sr. 3B Wilmington, Del./St. Mark's
Jamie Haas Boston U. Fr. SS Spring, Texas/Klein
Monica Evrard Hartford Jr. OF Coopersburg, Pa./Emmaus
Jess Brady Maine Fr. OF Jackman, Maine/Forest Hills
Stephanie DiBiase Stony Brook Fr. OF Hamilton, N.J./Notre Dame
Margaret Yerdon Binghamton Sr. DP Lacona, N.Y./Sandy Creek
Liz Nadeau (3) Hartford Sr. Util. Woburn, Mass./Woburn
Erica Sobel (4) Maine Sr. At-Large Worcester, Mass./Worcester Adacemy
Jenna Merchant Maine Fr. At-Large Sandy, Utah/Jordan
Julie Henneke Boston U. Fr. At-Large Philadelphia, Pa./Sickles
Second Team
Andi Miller Hartford Sr. P Severn, Md./St. Vincent Pallott
Tiffany Finateri Boston U. Jr. P Las Veags, Nev./Silverado
Amy Sullivan Hartford Fr. C Woburn, Mass./Woburn
Katie Churchill Maine Sr. 1B Beverly, Mass./Bishop Fenwick
Megan Craft Albany So. 2B South Glens Falls, N.Y./South Glens Falls
Jennifer Richardson Binghamton Jr. 3B Wellsville, N.Y./Wellsville
Valerie Terry Albany Sr. SS South Glens Falls, N.Y./South Glens Falls
Leigh Ann Savidge Binghamton So. OF Binghamton, N.Y./Seton Catholic
DeKenya Williams Boston U. Fr. OF San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel
Aliesha Rautenberg Maine Sr. OF West Roxbury, Mass./Boston Latin
Megan Long Vermont Fr. DP Swansea, Mass./Lincoln School
All-Rookie Team
Jamie Haas Boston U. Fr. SS Spring, Texas/Klein
Julie Henneke Boston U. Fr. Util. Philadelphia, Pa./Sickles
DeKenya Williams Boston U. Fr. OF San Diego, Calif/Mt. Carmel
Mallory Rapoza Hartford Fr. 2B Assonet, Mass./Apponequet Regional
Liz Borawski Hartford Fr. 3B Buffalo, N.Y./Kenmore East
Amy Sullivan Hartford Fr. C Woburn, Mass./Woburn
Jenna Merchant Maine Fr. P Sandy, Utah/Jordan
Jess Brady Maine Fr. OF Jackman, Maine/Forest Hills
Lindsay Tibbetts Maine Fr. C Berwick, Maine/Noble
Stephanie DiBiase Stony Brook Fr. OF Hamilton, N.J./Notre Dame
Kristen Brust Stony Brook Fr. 1B Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem
Megan Long Vermont Fr. DP Swansea, Mass./Lincoln School
Player of the Year: Jamie Haas, Boston University
Pitcher of the Year: Robyn Horrick, Boston University
Rookie of the Year: Julie Henneke, Boston University
Coach of the Year: Deb Smith, Maine
(1) first-team all-conference, 2001, 2000
(2) second-team all-conference, 2001, 2000; first-team all-conference, 1999
(3) first-team all-conference, 2001; second-team all-conference, 2000
(4) second-team all-conference, 2001; first-team all-conference, 2000, 1999