University of Massachusets Athletics
Five Softball Players Earn All Northeast Region Honors
May 16, 2001 | Softball
May 16, 2001
AMHERST, Mass. -- The University of Massachusetts placed five players on the Speedline Northeast All-Region Team, as selected by the area's coaches.
Junior second baseman Ashley Bakken (Phoenix, Ariz.) was the only UMass player chosen for the first team. She has started all 54 games for the 43-11 Minutewomen this season, and ranks fourth on the team in batting with a .317 average. The third-leading base stealer in UMass history with 62 thefts, she also earned All-Atlantic 10 honors in 2001.
Selected to the second team were junior pitcher Jennifer Hadley (Bristol, Conn.), junior centerfielder Teri Rooney (Visalia, Calif.), junior third baseman Cherra Wheeler (Kingsbug, Calif.) and sophomore shortstop Emily Robustelli (Stamford, Conn.).
Hadley leads the UMass pitching staff with a 19-6 record and 130 strikeouts in 165.0 innings of work. She owns a 1.48 ERA with two no-hitters, two one-hitters and nine shutouts to her credit this season. The 2001 Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year, Hadley was won 18 of her last 19 starts.
Rooney has started all 54 UMass games in centerfield and shares the team batting average lead with Wheeler at .338 on the season. An All-Atlantic 10 performer, Rooney has 22 RBI on the year to go with 12 extra base hits.
One of three UMass infielders honored, Robustelli ranks third on the team in batting with a .322 average, and leads the team in hits (56), runs scored (40), doubles (14) and triples (five). An All-Atlantic 10 selection for the second straight year, Robustelli has started 53 games at shortstop for the Minutewomen.
The Atlantic 10's Most Valuable Performer in 2001, Wheeler owns a .338 batting average and leads the club in home runs (six), RBI (43), slugging percentage (.552), on base percentage (.453) and has been hit by a pitch a team-best 14 times. She has started all 54 games at the hot corner.
Massachusetts opens play in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, May 17, at 6 p.m. (EDT) in Norman, Okla., against the North Carolina Tar Heels. UMass won the A-10 regular-season title with a 21-0 record, then took the league's tournament title in three games.