Volpe, Young Garner NFCA All-America Citations

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Two University of Michigan softball players are among the All-America award winners announced tonight (Wednesday, May 24) by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Sophomore designated player/catcher Stefanie Volpe (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth-Salem HS) and freshman pitcher/first baseman Marissa Young (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei HS) were both selected to the All-America Third Team, becoming the 13th and 14th Michigan players named to NFCA All-America honors.

	Volpe		Young

Both selected to the NFCA All-Great Lakes Region First Team, All-Big Ten Conference Second Team and NCAA Region 8 All-Tournament team, Volpe and Young helped Michigan to the Big Ten Tournament championship and runner-up finishes in the conference regular season and the NCAA Region 8 Softball Championship.

Volpe, the designated player on the All-America Third Team, finished as the Wolverines' leading hitter behind a career-best .363 batting average, 20 extra-base hits and 36 RBI. The sophomore tagged five home runs in the 2000 season, including her first career grand slam, against Kent on March 26. Volpe hit .455 in the Big Ten Tournament, helping U-M to the title with a two-run home run to right centerfield vs. Iowa in the championship game. She was twice named Big Ten Player of the Week (April 17, May 8), and earned all-tournament accolades at the Tallahassee Democrat Florida State Invitational and the Boilermaker Invitational.

Young, an at-large selection as a utility player on the All-America Third Team, posted an 18-4 record and 1.47 ERA over 26 pitching appearances. She finished her first collegiate season batting .277 while leading the Wolverines with 37 RBI. Young recorded back-to-back 2-0 complete-game shutout victories against Penn State (one-hitter) and Iowa (two-hitter) in the Big Ten Tournament to lead the Wolverines to the championship.

Named Michigan's Rookie of the Year, Young tossed her career-first no-hitter on Feb. 29 with a 1-0 victory over South Florida. She twice recorded 12 strikeouts (vs. Auburn, Feb. 25; vs. Central Michigan, April 12), and led the Big Ten in league ERA (0.38) behind a 6-1 record. Young is the first player in U-M history to hit two grand slam home runs (vs. Auburn; vs. Florida State, March 18).

Michigan Softball NFCA All-Americans

Player	Pos.	Year	Team
Jenny Allard	UT	1989	First Team
Patti Benedict	OF	1993	First Team
	OF	1992	Third Team
Traci Conrad	At-Large	1997	First Team
	1B	1998	First Team
	1B	1999	Third Team
Catherine Davie	OF	1999	Second Team
Melissa Gentile	C	1998	Second Team
Sara Griffin	UT	1995	First Team
	UT	1996	First Team
	UT	1998	First Team
Kelly Holmes	At-Large	1997	Second Team
Kelsey Kollen	2B	1999	Second Team
Kelly Kovach	P	1995	First Team
Vicki Morrow	DP/UT	1987	Second Team
Alicia Seegert	C	1986	First Team
	C	1987	Second Team
Kellyn Tate	OF	1998	Second Team
	OF	1996	Third Team
Stefanie Volpe	DP	2000	Third Team
Marissa Young	At-Large	2000	Third Team

Contact: Amy Carlton (734) 763-4423

University of Michigan Athletics

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Traci Conrad

Catherine Davie

Melissa Gentile

Kelsey Kollen

Stefanie Volpe

Marissa Young

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