National Fastpitch Coaches Association Awards Seven UAlbany Softball Scholar-Athletes

Starkville, Miss. - University at Albany's Kristine Bill, Alison Haan, Nicole Kothe, Diane MacDowell, Gina Mason, Lindsey Stout and Allie Weiser were named National Fastpitch Coaches Association Softball Scholar-Athletes, the association recently announced. All seven individuals compiled a minimum 3.5 cumulative grade point average during the 2009-10 academic year. The Great Danes advanced to the America East Conference postseason tournament for the ninth season in a row.

Kothe, who graduated with a degree in psychology, registered a 3.70 GPA during her senior year and is being recognized by the NFCA for the fourth time. A four-year starting outfielder, Kothe also made consecutive appearances on the America East all-academic squad as well as the ESPN The Magazine All-District second team. She carried a sociology minor and served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). A native of Middletown, N.Y., Kothe registered a career batting average of .240 with 113 hits, 50 RBIs, six homers and 72 runs scored. Defensively, she registered a .964 fielding percentage by committing just seven errors in four years.

Mason, a first baseman from Sacramento, Calif., is receiving the honor for the second straight year after posting a 3.68 GPA as a journalism major. She was voted to the 2010 All-America East first team after making the all-conference second team the previous season and the league's all-rookie squad in 2008. The team's cleanup hitter led the Great Danes in several offensive categories last spring, including batting average (.342), home runs (8), RBIs (30), hits (40), runs scored (24), slugging percentage (.607) and on-base percentage (.444). Mason, who was also named to the America East all-academic team, enters her senior campaign ranked on several of the program's top-10 lists, including fourth in career home runs (21), tied for fifth in RBIs (100) and tied for eighth in doubles (25).

Weiser, a freshman pitcher who finished the year with a 3.68 GPA as an intended psychology major, was named to the 2010 America East all-rookie team. A native of Wildwood Crest, N.J., Weiser made an immediate impact by posting a 1.50 earned run average in the season-opening tournament at Stetson. For her efforts, she was named the America East pitcher and rookie of the week. Weiser, who made 18 appearances and 10 starts, posted a 5-5 record and a 3.15 ERA on the season. Weiser fanned 47 batters against only 14 walks in 86.2 innings of work.

Bill, a junior utility player and business administration major, compiled a 3.56 grade point average. She made 34 appearances and 33 starts, primarily at third base and center field. A native of Woodland, Calif. and team representative on SAAC, Bill finished the 2010 season with 18 hits, 12 RBIs and 14 runs scored. She has a career batting average of .255 with 72 hits, including four home runs, 39 RBIs and 52 runs scored. Bill was an All-America East second team member as a sophomore.

MacDowell posted a 3.63 GPA as a sophomore environmental science major. The slap hitter became a starter in the outfield during the month of March and improved her totals in practically every offensive statistical category. MacDowell, a SAAC member, ranked third on the team with 12 stolen bases and posted a .966 fielding percentage, committing only two errors in center field last spring. A native of Middletown, N.Y., MacDowell finished with 11 hits and 12 runs scored this past season.

Freshman catcher Lindsey Stout, who hails from Vestal, N.Y., and sophomore outfielder Alison Haan, a native of Wappingers Falls, N.Y., complete the list of Great Danes to be nationally recognized by the NFCA for their efforts in the classroom. Stout, who will likely be the team's starting catcher in 2011, posted a team-best 3.87 GPA as an intended human biology major, while Haan, a psychology major, had a 3.83 GPA.


Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information