May 13, 2013
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — Two members of the University of Iowa softball team — Megan Blank and Johnnie Dowling — have earned postseason honors from College Sports Madness. Blank has been named a third team All-American and first team all-conference honoree. Dowling has also been named to the 2013 Madness All-Big Ten team as a second team outfielder.
Blank was named first team All-Big Ten last week by the conference, and Dowling earned second team honors. Blank earned her second-straight first team accolade, becoming the sixth Hawkeye in program history to earn first team honors in each of her first two seasons.
Blank, who became the ninth player in school history to garner first team All-Big Ten honors as a freshman and ninth player in program history to earn all-region recognition as a freshman last year in 2012, hit .437 in 2013, setting Iowa’s single season batting average record. The previous record was .428, set by Kim Davis in 1993. The sophomore’s career average is .413, also marking the highest in program history. Blank’s 59 RBIs this year mark the second-highest single-season total in program history. Debbie Bilbao posted a school-record 61 RBIs in 1997. Blank belted 11 home runs this season — the third-highest single-season total.
Blank ranks fifth or higher in the Big Ten in eight major hitting categories. The Culver City, Calif., native is second in the Big Ten with 59 RBIs, third with a .437 batting average, a .766 slugging percentage, and 69 hits, fourth with 15 doubles and a .552 on-base percentage, and fifth in walks (35) and total bases (121).
Blank led the team with 19 multiple-RBI games and was second with 19 multi-hit games. She posted a 36-game reached-base streak and notched three or more RBIs eight times. Blank earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors twice this season and was named to the 2013 Lovelace Invitational All-Tournament team.
Dowling, who hails from Des Moines, Iowa, was second on the team with a .349 batting average and paced the team with 21 multi-hit games. The former West Des Moines Valley standout started all 54 games in center and in the leadoff spot, and started 194-of-200 career games. She is second in the Big Ten and 38th nationally with four triples. Dowling sits at seventh in the conference in runs scored (46) and tied for fifth in stolen bases (20) — the 46 runs equal the seventh-highest total in Iowa history. Dowling, a third-team All-Big Ten honoree in 2012, ranks ninth in program history in runs (120) and 10th in stolen bases (53).