Wolverine Quartet Earns NFCA All-America Recognition
5/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Four members of the University of Michigan softball team earned Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-America recognition as announced today (Wednesday, May 28) by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. U-M was one of five schools -- along with Arizona State, Florida Alabama and UCLA -- to receive four or more All-America nods.
Senior second baseman Samantha Findlay(Lockport, Ill./East HS) highlighted the quartet with first-team distinction, while senior outfielder Alessandra Giampaolo(Pasadena, Calif./Polytechnic HS) and freshman pitcher Jordan Taylor(Valencia, Calif./Valencia HS) earned second-team honors and sophomore pitcher Nikki Nemitz(St. Clair Shores, Mich./Regina HS) garnered third-team distinction. All four Wolverines earned All-America recognition for the first time in their respective careers.
Michigan has boasted 25 different All-Americans -- combining for 40 distinctions -- in its 31-year program history. U-M has boasted at least one All-America selection in each of the last 14 seasons. The 2008 quartet matches the program's largest single-season contingent. The Wolverines also garnered four All-American citations in 1998 and 2005.
Findlay and Giampaolo, who did not miss a start in four seasons at Michigan, placed their names throughout the offensive categories in U-M's record book and fittingly wrapped up their collegiate careers with All-America recognition. The pair ranked among the Wolverines' hitting leaders in each of the last four seasons and were instrumental in the Wolverines' 2005 national championship season, with Findlay claiming Women's College World Series MVP honors after knocking out the game-winning three-run home run in the eighth inning vs. UCLA in the championship game.
Findlay established U-M career records for home runs (62), runs batted in (219) and walks (151) and ranks among NCAA Division I softball's top-20 all-time leaders in all three categories. After starting three seasons at first base, she moved to second base in 2008 and led the Wolverines with a .382 average, 57 runs scored, 21 home runs and 69 RBI. Among the nation's leaders in long balls, runs batted in and slugging percentage (.818), Findlay matched her own single-season home run record and ranked second in single-season RBI, trailing only her own school record (77). Findlay joins her younger sister, sophomore Angela Findlay(Lockport, Ill./East HS), as the only sister combination to garner All-America honors in program history. Angela was a 2007 third-team choice.
Giampaolo clicked off her 61st double against Virginia Tech in last weekend's NCAA Super Regional to claim a share of the Michigan career record in the category. The U-M leftfielder, who started her first three seasons in centerfield, ranked second among Wolverine players with a .363 batting average while leading the team in hits (70) and doubles (13). Michigan's most consistent hitter in 2008, Giampaolo tallied at least one base knock in 48 of U-M's 60 games, including a 16-game hitting streak in the heart of the Big Ten Conference season (March 28-April 18) -- the longest streak by a Wolverine player in 12 years. Earlier in the day, Giampaolo was named to the Academic All-America third team. She is fourth Wolverine player to garner both All-America and Academic All-America honors in the same season.
Taylor and Nemitz's dual selection marks the second time in program history that Michigan placed a pair of pitchers on the All-America teams. The U-M pitching duo boasted the nation's top earned run average for the entirety of the 2008 campaign and concluded the season with a 0.88 ERA, ranking as the second best in Michigan softball history behind the 1986 squad's record 0.79. Taylor and Nemitz gave the Wolverine staff a pair of 20-game winners for the eighth time in program history and second time in as many years. The pair accomplished the feat in just 46 games -- faster than any other previous U-M combination.
Taylor joins Sara Griffin (utility, 1995), Kelsey Kollen (second base, 1999), Marissa Young (utility, 2000) and Angela Findlay to garner All-America selection as a Michigan freshman. The Big Ten Freshman of the Year, she boasted the program's best statistics for a rookie hurler, leading the Wolverine squad with a 31-4 record, 0.76 ERA, 15 shutouts and 279 strikeouts. Her final numbers listed among Michigan's all-time top five in every single-season category.
Nemitz, who contributed to the Wolverines' success from both sides of the plate in her first season as an everyday hitter, registered career highs in every pitching category with a 21-4 record, 1.04 ERA, 10 shutouts and 211 strikeouts. Among her shutout performances, Nemitz's tossed a perfect game -- the fifth in U-M program history -- against Birmingham Southern at the UCF Tournament (Feb. 23). She is just the second Wolverine player to start her collegiate career with back-to-back 20-win seasons.
U-M wrapped up the 2008 season with a 52-8 overall record. The Wolverines shared the Big Ten regular-season title and won their 11th NCAA regional championship.
NFCA Release
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
