SUNYAC RELEASES 2016 SOFTBALL AWARDS
The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) is proud to recognize and award this season's Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Coach of the Year and All-Conference teams for the 2016 softball season.
CORTLAND, N.Y. - The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) is proud to recognize and award this season's Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Coach of the Year and All-Conference teams for the 2016 softball season. All awards were voted on by the SUNYAC softball conference coaches.
Jamie Bucci from Cortland is the 2016 Player of the Year. Alexandrea Flint from Cortland was awarded the Pitcher of the Year. Jennifer Groat from Plattsburgh is honored with the Rookie of the Year and the 2016 Sandra Hollander Coach of the Year award goes to Plattsburgh's head coach, Stephanie Conroy.
Cortland senior captain Jamie Bucci had a fantastic senior season leading the Red Dragons to their 14th conference title as she was a member of the 2016 SUNYAC Softball All-Tournament Team. Bucci started all 44 games this season posting a .414 batting average. The Red Dragons lead off hitter was a terror on the base paths as she finished tied for first in the conference with 19 stolen bases and also led the league in runs scored with 40. In the outfield Bucci was perfect, not making an error in 57 attempts.
Alexandrea Flint also helped lead the Red Dragons to their conference title this season as she was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. The righty hurler posted a 16-3 record this season in 21 starts for Cortland. Of those games pitched, Flint gave up a minimal 33 earned runs totaling her earned run average to a 1.92. Teams struggled against her as they only hit .231 while she was on the mound.
First year Cardinals' player Jennifer Groat did not take long to become accustomed to college competition. Groat started all 44 games posting a .442 batting average. Out of her 57 hits, 19 of them were extra base hits with 11 doubles, five triples, and three homeruns. Groat was also a member of the 2016 SUNYAC Softball All-Tournament Team.
Stephanie Conroy was named the Sandra Hollander Coach of the year with a 26-17 overall record (13-5 conference). Conroy led her team to a second place regular-season finish and a 2-2 run in the SUNYAC Championship Tournament. Conroy is in her seventh season as the head coach for the Cardinals improving her overall record to 135-98 (.579 winning percentage).
2016 SUNYAC Softball All-Conference Teams (PDF)
| First Team | ||||
| Name | School | Pos | Yr | Hometown |
| Niki Barbato | Cortland | OF | Jr. | East Meadow/Holy Trinity |
| Jamie Bucci | Cortland | OF | Sr. | Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow |
| Danni Napoli | Geneseo | OF | Fr. | Wading River/Riverhead |
| Amanda Tantillo | Plattsburgh | OF | So. | Florida, NY/S.S. Seward Institute |
| Stephanie Novo | Buffalo State | IF | Sr. | Cheektowaga/Dephew |
| Erin Wolstenholme | Cortland | IF | Sr. | Oneonta/Oneonta |
| Marlene Cuevas | Oneonta | IF | Jr. | Wappingers Falls/Roy C. Ketcham |
| Jordan Ott | Potsdam | IF | Jr. | Hilton/Hilton |
| Lexi Haley | Buffalo State | P | Sr. | Rochester/Aquinia |
| Alexandrea Flint | Cortland | P | Jr. | Dalton/Keshequa |
| Tori Trovato | Oswego | C | Sr. | Fulton/Millbrook |
| Jennifer Groat | Plattsburgh | C | Fr. | Ballston Spa/Ballston Spa |
| Andrea Schoonmaker | Cortland | DP | So. | Marlboro/Morlboro |
| Jackie Decker | Plattsburgh | U | So. | Adams/South Jefferson |
| Second Team | ||||
| Name | School | Pos | Yr | Hometown |
| Amanda Yuhas | Brockport | OF | Fr. | Hamburg/Eden |
| Laura Crooks | Bufffalo State | OF | Jr. | Niagara Falls/Niagara Wheatfield |
| Diane Cork | Cortland | OF | Sr. | Wayland/Wayland-Cohocton |
| Kaleigh Churchill | Cortland | IF | Jr. | Camillus/West Genesee |
| Jamie Whittam | Oneonta | IF | Sr. | Saugerties/Saugerties |
| Kaitlyn Preiss | Plattsburgh | IF | Fr. | Cornwall/Cornwall Central |
| Katie Marsman | Potsdam | IF | Sr. | Wantagh/Wyoming Seminary |
| Mikayla Moore | Geneseo | P | Sr. | Stillwater/Stillwater |
| Sabrina DeAngelis | Oneonta | P | Jr. | East Meadow/Kellenberg |
| Katie Rutcofsky | New Paltz | P | Sr. | Plainview/Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK |
| Claire VanNewkirk | Geneseo | DP | So. | Honeoye Falls/Honeoye Falls-Lima |
| Karleigh Eaton | Brockport | U | So. | Endicott/Union-Endicott |
| Player of the Year | Jamie Bucci, Cortland | |||
| Pitcher of the Year | Alexandrea Flint, Cortland | |||
| Rookie of the Year | Jennifer Groat, Plattsburgh | |||
| Coach of the Year | Stephanie Conroy, Plattsburgh | |||
