May 13, 2009
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IOWA CITY – The Big Ten Conference announced its 2009 all-Big Ten softball teams Wednesday, which include seniors Brittany Weil and Colleen McGlaughlin, junior Katie Brown and freshmen Liz Watkins and Katie Keim.
Both Weil and McGlaughlin were first team all-Big Ten selections. Iowa has now had at least one softball student-athlete named first team all-Big Ten in 22-straight seasons, dating back to 1987.
Weil, a native of Garden Grove, CA, led the Big Ten in opposing batting average (.146) and ranked second in both ERA (1.29) and strikeouts (136) in conference games only. During Big Ten play, Weil went 11-4, tossing 10 complete games and seven shutouts. This is the first time Weil has been named first team all-Big Ten. She has garnered all-league honors in every season at Iowa, earning third team honors as a freshman and sophomore and second team laurels as a junior.
McGlaughlin ranked in the top 10 in six different offensive categories for Big Ten games only, including on base percentage (5th, .493), home runs (T-6th, 5), slugging percentage (7th, .759), batting average (8th, .379), hits (T-9th, 22) and RBI (T-9th, 16). She started and played all 20 Big Ten games this season, and did not commit an error, defensively. This is McGlaughlin’s third all-Big Ten accolade, after being named third team as a sophomore and second team as a junior.
Brown was named to the all-Big Ten second team after leading the Hawkeyes with a .393 batting average and six home runs in Big Ten games. Brown also ranked in the top 10 in six different categories, including slugging percentage (4th, .768), batting average (5th, .393), on base percentage (7th, .471), home runs (T-8th, 6), hits (T-9th) and RBI (T-9th). This is the second all-Big Ten accolade for Brown, after being named first team all-conference last season as a sophomore. Brown was also named Iowa’s softball Sportsmanship award nominee for the 2009 season.
Two Hawkeye freshmen named third team all-Big Ten. Watkins caught 130 of Iowa’s 131 innings during Big Ten play, and did not commit a single error. She also brought a hot bat to the Iowa lineup, hitting .296 with three home runs and 16 RBI with a .556 slugging percentage in league games.
Keim started all 20 league games at third base, with only two defensive errors and a .966 fielding percentage. She batted .306 with two doubles and nine RBI during Big Ten play.
Northwestern shortstop Tammy Williams was named Big Ten Player of the Year, while Michigan’s Nikki Nemitz was Pitcher of the Year. Northwestern’s Adrienne Monka earned Freshman of the Year honors, and Michigan’s Carol Hutchins was Coach of the Year.
The Hawkeyes will open NCAA Tournament play against Auburn Friday at 4 p.m. (CT), in the Atlanta Regional.