April 1, 2005
Ali Arnold, a pitcher on the Uniersity of Iowa’s nationally ranked softball team, has been added to the McLeodUSA StarHawks team.
Arnold, a junior from Bloomington, Illinois, started 25 games as a freshman, which included six shutouts while compiling a 14-6 record. She also recorded a .375 batting average in 16 at bats and knocked in five runs on six hits.
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“Ali’s teammates and coaches say it is her confidence that allows her to excel. We often use her as an example of this, knowing that confidence dictates so much of what a young person can do.”
UI Softball Coach Gayle Blevins
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As a sophomore, Arnold started 32 games and compiled a 17-10 record. She was fourth on the team with a .282 batting average, hitting .346 in Big Ten play – she went 3-for-3 with a home run and five RBIs against Arizona State while pitching a 5-inning shutout.
“Ali is a great leader on our team,” said UI Head Coach Gayle Blevins. “She has that special belief in herself and her teammates that separates her from many competitors.”
Arnold represents her team on the Iowa Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, a group of student-athletes from each of the UI’s varsity sports programs who help to shape departmental policies and procedures and to initiate department-wide outreach programs. She is majoring in communications.
“Ali’s teammates and coaches say it is her confidence that allows her to excel, ” Blevins said. “We often use her as an example of this, knowing that confidence dictates so much of what a young person can do.”
The StarHawks program is an initiative funded in part by McLeodUSA, a leading telecommunications company with corporate headquarters in Cedar Rapids and a long-time member of the UI’s Partners in Excellence corporate sponsorship program. The StarHawks team is a collection of student-athletes at the University of Iowa who truly represent the very best the intercollegiate athletics program at the UI has to offer. StarHawks typically excel athletically and academically, and also are active in community or leadership activities.