· Southland Conference release
Amanda
NikolenkoStevi
SimpsonFRISCO
— UTSA, the three-time defending Southland Conference (SLC) regular season champions and reigning SLC Tournament champions, was tabbed as the preseason favorite in both the head coaches and sports information directors polls, the league office announced Thursday. The Roadrunners, who finished a league-best 22-5 last year and 37-14 overall, earned 96 points in the coaches poll, including seven first-place votes, along with 120 points and 10 first-place votes in the sports information directors poll.
Texas State, who finished second in league play last year, finished second in both polls, receiving two first-place votes in the coaches poll and one in the sports information poll, while Texas-Arlington, who lost to UTSA in the SLC Conference Tournament Championship Game last year, received one first-place vote and placed third in both polls. Sam Houston State was tabbed fourth in the coaches poll, while McNeese State and Northwestern State tied for fourth in the SID poll. Northwestern State was tabbed fifth in the coaches poll, while Nicholls State, who received one first-place vote in the coaches poll, and McNeese State tied for sixth. Nicholls State and Sam Houston State both tied for sixth in the SID poll.
The final four teams were identical in both the coaches and sports information directors polls, with Stephen F. Austin in eighth, league newcomer Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in ninth, with Southeastern Louisiana and league newcomer Central Arkansas completing the poll.
On the preseason teams, UTSA placed a league-best five players, while Texas-Arlington and McNeese State each placed four. Sam Houston State had three players, while Nicholls State, Northwestern State and Texas State each had two. UTSA and McNeese State each placed three players on the first-team, while Texas-Arlington and Nicholls State each had two.
Appearing on the first team from UTSA are junior pitcher Amanda Nikolenko and senior first baseman Stevi Simpson. Nikolenko, a first-team All-SLC selection in 2006 and four-time Pitcher of the Week honoree, led the league in wins (23) and was fifth in both ERA (2.24) and strikeouts (157) last year. Simpson, a first-team All-SLC selection last year, ranked No. 5 in the league in batting average (.352) and was errorless in the field.
The first team shortstop is Nicholls State junior Kat Harrell, the league’s Hitter of the Year in 2006. Harrell led the league in batting average (.382), runs scored (42) and hits (65). Texas-Arlington senior Courtni Anderson, also a first-team All-SLC honoree last year who hit .318, is the designated player. Rounding out the preseason first-team is McNeese State junior second baseman Brooke Broadhead, junior catcher Jenny Clay and junior outfielder Christina Allen, the league’s Newcomer of the Year in 2006, Nicholls State senior third baseman Leah Peterson, Texas-Arlington junior outfielder Kate Jones, Texas State senior outfielder Amy Krueger and Sam Houston State junior pitcher Shalayne Blythe. Broadhead hit .272 for the Cowgirls in 2006, while Clay led the squad with a .333 batting average and led the league in triples with Harrell (four). Allen hit .285, tying for the team lead with Broadhead in hits (43). Peterson led the league in doubles (19) and hit .327 for the Lady Colonels. Jones led the team and finished No. 8 in the league with a .352 batting average. Blythe tied for eighth with 12 wins and 11th in ERA at 2.82, tossing 20 complete games and four shutouts.
| Kim Chavez | Catherine Garza | Aimee Murray |
Highlighting the second-team is UTSA senior catcher Catherine Garza, who led the league in slugging percentage (.738), on-base percentage (.469) and finished second in batting average (.381). Joining her on the second team are two of her teammates, senior shortstop Aimee Murray, a two-time first-team All-SLC performer, and junior outfielder Kim Chavez. Murray hit .361 with 13 home runs and 31 RBI, while Chavez hit .324.
Also on the squad are two players from Texas-Arlington, senior first baseman Dee Jay Nelson, who hit .320 last season and led the team with 36 RBI, and junior pitcher Laura Jones, who finished with an 11-7 record and 2.13 ERA, tossing 16 complete games and four shutouts. Sam Houston State also has two preseason second-team honorees, junior second baseman Tanya Hooser, who led the team with a .324 batting average and 47 hits and senior outfielder Stephanie Mosley, who hit .298 in 2006, as does Northwestern Sate, with senior pitcher Amanda Glenn, who posted a 14-23 record and 2.71 ERA and a team-best 34 RBI, and senior third baseman Margaret Patterson, who hit .263. McNeese State outfielder Rachel Phillips, who hit .285 last season, and Texas State junior pitcher Ragan Blake, a transfer from Mississippi State, posting a 16-15 record, 1.78 ERA and 185 strikeouts as a Bulldog, round out the squad.