BABSON PARK, Mass. –  The Wellesley College softball team placed four players on the 2009 NEWMAC All-Conference team.  The Blue were represented by first team selections, Barbarajean Grundlock (Blackwood, NJ) and Megan Wood (Jacksonville, FL) and second team honorees Amanda Tai (Melrose, MA) and Alison Davis (Glen Ellyn, IL). 

Regular-season champion, Coast Guard led all schools with five All-Conference selections, while Wellesley and tournament-Champion Springfield each had four selections.

Grundlock, a senior, makes her first appearance on the All-Conference team.  Wellesley's main presence in the circle, she led the Blue to a 12-3-1 mark in NEWMAC play. In games against conference opponents, Grundlock was second in wins (9), second in opponent's batting average (.186), second in strikeouts (116), third in ERA (1.43) and third in innings pitched (83). Overall, Grundlock compiled a 14-9 record with an ERA of 2.20 and 192 strikeouts.

Wood, a junior, earned her third consecutive All-Conference honor, after being named to the second team the past two seasons.  Wellesley's starting left fielder, she led the best hitting team in the NEWMAC in average (.398), hits (45), on-base percentage (.417), homeruns (7) and runs batted in (35).  In games against NEWMAC opponents, Wood leads the conference in hits (24) and total bases (42), is second in batting average (.462) and is third in RBI (15).  With runners on base, she raised her season average to .452 while also hitting an amazing .800 with the bases loaded.  Wood has been perfect in the field all year with a 1.000 fielding percentage, and has recorded a 4-3 record in the circle, with one save and an ERA of 2.62.

Tai, a senior, makes her second-straight appearance as an All-Conference selection.  The Blue's lead off hitter, she ranked first on the team stolen bases (8), and second in batting average (.372) and hits (44). Against NEWMAC opponents, she ranked second in the conference in hits (23), fourth in batting average (.397), and seventh in on-base percentage (.417) and runs scored (13). Tai hit safely in all but five of the 35 games she played this season, while also recording 10 multi-hit performances.

Davis, a sophomore, earns her first All-Conference award.  The starting second baseman for Wellesley, she was one of the team's most productive hitters, leading the Blue in runs scored (33), triples (6 - NEWMAC leader) and doubles (7), ranking second in RBI (24) and slugging percentage (.545) and ranking third in hits (39) and batting average (.348). Against NEWMAC opponents, she ranked fourth in runs (14), fifth in stolen bases (5), sixth in RBI (12), and eighth in batting average (.373).  Davis closed the season with an amazing 18-game hitting streak, which included ten multi-hit performances.

Wellesley finished the season with a 21-14-1 overall record and as both the NEWMAC Tournamet and the NEWMAC Regular season runner-up.

2009 NEWMAC Softball All-Conference Team and Award Winners
 
Player of the Year
Michelle Wlosek, Springfield

Pitcher of the Year
Hayley Feindel, Coast Guard

Rookie of the Year
Hayley Feindel, Coast Guard

Coach of the Year
Kathy Mangano, Springfield

Sportsmanship Award
MIT

First Team All-Conference
Danielle Liska, Babson
Lauren Blake, Clark
Hayley Feindel, Coast Guard
Amanda Frederick, Coast Guard
Courtney Wolf, Coast Guard
Samantha Rhodes, Springfield
Michelle Wlosek, Springfield
Barbarajean Grundlock, Wellesley
Megan Wood, Wellesley

Second Team All-Conference
Annette Boston, Coast Guard
Jeannie Crump, Coast Guard
Megan Kiefer, Smith
Angela Atkins, Springfield
Aimee Cassella, Springfield
Alison Davis, Wellesley
Amanda Tai, Wellesley
Stacey Kelleher, Wheaton
Allie Hardy, WPI