Wolverines Dominate 1999 All-Big Ten Softball Awards

PARK RIDGE, Ill. -- Big Ten Conference season champion University of Michigan placed eight players on the 1999 All-Big Ten softball teams, highlighted by a sweep of the league's individual awards.

Conrad

Senior first baseman Traci Conrad (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way HS) was named Big Ten Player of the Year for the second consecutive season in addition to earning her third All-Big Ten First-Team citation. A two-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America First-Team award winner, Conrad hold both the Michigan and Big Ten career hits (338) and runs (219) records. She captured the conference batting title the last two seasons, hitting .468 in 1998 and .452 this season vs. the league.

Barda

Marie Barda (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South HS), a right-handed sophomore pitcher, became the third Wolverine to earn Big Ten Pitcher of the Year honors, following Kelly Holmes in 1997 and Sara Griffin in 1998. Barda totaled a league-leading 1.22 ERA in conference play with a 10-1 record and 32 strikeouts, and earned her first All-Big Ten First-Team award.

Kollen

U-M second baseman Kelsey Kollen (Cerritos, Calif./Mater Dei HS) was selected Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Kollen finished her first Big Ten season fifth in conference batting with a .394 percentage. Defensively, she totaled 71 putouts and 40 assists with only four errors for a .965 Big Ten fielding percentage. Kollen was also named to the All-Big Ten First Team.

Hutchins

Michigan head coach Carol Hutchins shared Big Ten Coach of the Year honors with Penn State's Robin Petrini. The conference award is Hutchins' sixth, while Petrini is the first Big Ten softball Coach of the Year award winner for the Nittany Lions.

Hutchins, in her 15th season at U-M, is the winningest coach in Michigan women's athletics history and the second-winningest active coach in Wolverine athletics. She was named Big Ten Coach of the Year in 1985, '92, '93, '96 and '98. Hutchins carries a 637-272-2 career record over her 16 years as a head coach, and is 267-106 lifetime against the Big Ten.

Joining Conrad, Barda and Kollen on the All-Big Ten First Team are senior leftfielder Catherine Davie (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS), junior third baseman Pam Kosanke (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central HS), freshman catcher Stefanie Volpe (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth-Salem HS) and sophomore rightfielder Melissa Taylor (Deerfield, Mich./Summerfield HS). Conrad, Kollen, Kosanke, Davie and Barda were all unanimous picks at their positions.

Wolverine junior pitcher Jamie Gillies (Saugus, Calif./Saugus HS) was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team.

Davie, who holds the Big Ten and Michigan career doubles record with 61, hit .375 in the conference season, with six doubles and two home runs. She repeats as an all-conference first-team selection (1998) and earns her third career league award.

Kosanke has put together the best season of her career, hitting .324 vs. the Big Ten. She finished conference play tied for second in RBI statistics with 18. It is Kosanke's first all-conference team citation.

Volpe led the Big Ten with 33 RBIs after hitting .400 over the 24-game league season. She finished conference play with a 9-for-10 (.900) three-game series vs. Indiana (May 8-9), earning Big Ten Player of the Week honors.

Taylor earned her first all-conference team award after finishing Big Ten play with a .368 batting average. She finished league play with 21 hits and six sacrifice bunts.

Gillies was selected for her first postseason conference award after recording a 1.82 ERA and 29 strikeouts vs. the conference. Her 10 Big Ten wins (10-2) tied teammate Barda for second-most among league pitchers.

1999 All-Big Ten Conference Softball Honors
As selected by the Big Ten coaches (* unanimous selections)

First Team 1B -- Traci Conrad, Michigan* 2B -- Kelsey Kollen, Michigan SS -- Julie Borchard, Wisconsin 3B -- Pam Kosanke, Michigan* C -- Stefanie Volpe, Michigan OF -- Catherine Davie, Michigan* OF -- Carrie Carpenter, Michigan State OF -- Melissa Taylor, Michigan P -- Marie Barda, Michigan* P -- Steph Klaviter, Minnesota UT -- Brooke Siebel, Northwestern At-Large -- Shawnte Vallejo, 1B, Iowa Second Team 1B -- Shealee Dunavan, Michigan State 2B -- Carrie Fry, Michigan State SS -- Shannon Beeler, Minnesota 3B -- Liz Dennis, Iowa C -- Colleen Kersey, Penn State OF -- Alicia Gerlach, Iowa OF -- Steph Midthun, Minnesota OF -- Jade Gosse, Wisconsin P -- Jaci Kalp, Penn State P -- Jamie Gillies, Michigan UT -- Tanis Ambelang, Penn State At-Large -- Stacey Phillips, SS, Michigan State Third Team 1B -- Samantha Kimura, Ohio State 2B -- Sam Mercier, Purdue SS -- Tami Jones, Northwestern 3B -- Jennifer Tripken, Penn State C -- Molly Hugan, Michigan State OF -- Amber Morrow, Iowa OF -- Anna Smith, Ohio State OF -- Karen Gulini, Penn State P -- Kristi Hanks, Iowa P -- Kelly Zeilstra, Iowa UT -- Tammy Utley, Iowa At-Large -- Angel Braden, UT, Minnesota

Player of the Year Traci Conrad, 1B, Michigan Pitcher of the Year Marie Barda, RHP, Michigan Freshman of the Year Kelsey Kollen, 2B, Michigan Co-Coaches of the Year Robin Petrini, Penn State Carol Hutchins, Michigan

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

Last updated: Friday, 14-May-1999 20:28:06 EDT