Six Wolverines Earn All-Great Lakes Region Honors

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Six members of the University of Michigan softball team earned spots on the 1999 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Louisville Slugger Great Lakes Region teams. Five Wolverines were placed on the region first team, with one listed on the second team.

Heading the list of Great Lakes Region First-Team honorees are sophomore pitcher Marie Barda (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South HS) and senior first baseman Traci Conrad (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way HS). Barda, earlier named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and NCAA Regional 6 All-Tournament, led the U-M pitching staff with a 22-4 record and 1.12 ERA. She tallied three saves and held opposing hitters to a .186 batting average over the season. Conrad, named Big Ten Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, finished the year with a .385 batting average, collecting 87 hits and scoring a career-best 87 runs.

Also selected to the Great Lakes Region First Team were freshman second baseman Kelsey Kollen (Cerritos, Calif./Mater Dei HS), senior leftfielder Catherine Davie (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS) and sophomore rightfielder Melissa Taylor (Deerfield, Mich./Summerfield HS).

Kollen, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, completed her first collegiate season hitting .376, led Michigan with 89 hits and stole 15 bases. A unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten Conference First Team, Davie led Michigan with a .407 batting average, eight home runs and 54 RBIs. Taylor, an All-Big Ten First-Team pick, put together the best season of her career, hitting .350 with 55 hits and six stolen bases.

Named to the NFCA Great Lakes Region Second Team in the utility position was freshman catcher/designated player Stefanie Volpe (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth-Salem HS). All-Big Ten First Team at catcher, Volpe finished her first collegiate season batting .345 with 43 RBIs.

Michigan finished the 1999 season with a 51-13-1 record and the Big Ten regular-season title. The Wolverines qualified for the NCAA National Softball Championship, serving as hosts for the Regional 6 Championship.

Contacts: Amy Carlton, Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423

Last updated: Thursday, 27-May-1999 20:19:14 EDT