University of Massachusets Athletics
Weekly Notes
May 23, 2000 | Softball
May 23, 2000
MINUTEWOMEN AT NCAA REGIONALS: UMass participated in its 10th NCAA Regional appearance last week from May 18-19 in Tucson, Ariz. The Minutewomen went into the regional as the No. 4 seed and opened up with the No. 3 seed South Carolina on May 18. UMass fell 10-0 to the Gamecocks, despite recording five hits in the contest. Sophomore Teri Rooney (Visalia, Calif.) paced the Minutewomen at the plate with a 2-for-3 outing. UMass took on the No. 1 seed Arizona the following day, also falling to the Wildcats, 10-0, and resulting in the team's elimination from the tournament. Senior Nikki Faessler (Milford, Mass.) and Rooney both picked up hits in the loss. The Minutewomen complete the season with a 35-23 overall record, including a 13-3 mark in Atlantic 10 action.
FAESSLER BIDS FAREWELL TO UMASS CAREER: Senior Nikki Faessler will have a lot of fond memories of her UMass softball playing days. She was a part of two College World Series appearances, four NCAA Regional appearances and four Atlantic 10 titles. Faessler will leave the Minutewomen as a three-time Atlantic 10 All-Tournament selection and an Atlantic 10 All-Conference selection. She ranks second all-time at UMass with sophomore Cherra Wheeler (Kingsburg, Calif.) in career home runs with 11, and is tied for seventh all-time in doubles with 29. She has played in 200 games for the Minutewomen in her career, starting at catcher during 140 of those contests. She was instrumental this season in both the Minutewomen's Atlantic 10 regular-season and Atlantic 10 tournament titles. She homered versus Rhode Island on May 6 to win both the game and the regular-season crown for UMass, and drove in two key runs versus Virginia Tech on May 13, which helped the Minutewomen earn their sixth straight tournament title.
FOUR MINUTEWOMEN EARN ALL-REGION HONORS: Four UMass players were recently named to the All-Northeast Region Softball Team. Freshmen Brandi Cross (Diamond Bar, Calif.) and Kaila Holtz (North Vancouver, B.C.) both garnered first-team acclaim, while sophomores Cherra Wheeler and Teri Rooney were named to the All-Northeast Second Team. Cross was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, and paced the squad this season in batting (.383), hits (62) and in home runs (9). Holtz was an Atlantic 10 All-Tournament selection this year, and posted the most wins (16), shutouts (7) and strikeouts (141) on the team, while registering a team-low 2.13 ERA. Wheeler also garnered All-Tournament acclaim, and posted a .325 batting average, which ranked third on the team. She also stood third on the team in hits (53) and tied for second with four long balls this season. Rooney was named the Atlantic 10 Championship's Most Outstanding Player, after batting .778 with seven hits, six runs, five RBI and two doubles during the tournament. She also ranks first on the team in RBI (38) and in runs scored (40).
FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT FOR YOUNG MINUTEWOMAN SQUAD: UMass will lose senior Nikki Faessler next season, but will add three newcomers to the roster. Jamie Cahalan of Mesa, Ariz., will come in as a catcher and an outfielder, while Aisha Franke of Philadelphia, Pa., will also provide added depth to the outfield lineup. KC Budrewicz, a native of Charlemont, Mass., will round out the 2000 recruiting class as an infielder next season.
HEAD COACH ELAINE SORTINO: Elaine Sortino, who is in her 21st season at the helm of the UMass softball program, coached her 1,000th career game against UConn on May 9. In her tenure as UMass head coach, she has amassed a 688-314-3 record and has led UMass onto the national stage. She has led the Minutewomen to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, 13 Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles and three Women's College World Series trips (1992, 1997 and 1998). The five time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, Sortino has been named the Northeast Regional Coach of the Year, four times. In the last two seasons, Sortino has led the Minutewomen to back-to-back 40-win seasons for the first time in school history. In 1998, UMass won a school record 45 games, while in 1999 they earned 43 victories. Last fall, Sortino was inducted into the Oneonta State Athletic Hall of Fame.