DAVIS, KILCOYNE EARN 1ST TEAM ALL-GNAC HONORS, KILCOYNE TABBED GNAC PITCHER OF THE YEAR

BOSTON, Mass. – After posting what will go down as the best softball season in Emmanuel College program-history, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) has honored EC standouts Catherine Davis (Wethersfield, Conn.) and Jill Kilcoyne (Worcester, Mass.) with post-season honors.  Both have been voted 1st Team All-GNAC selections and Kilcoyne earned the conference's top pitching honor as the 2015 GNAC Pitcher of the Year.

Davis, Emmanuel's starting shortstop, is making her second appearance on the GNAC All-Conference squad, after also being tabbed a 1st Team selection last year as a sophomore.  In 2015, Davis led the Saints offensively with her .427 batting average, 4.86 on-base-percentage and .669 slugging percentage.  Davis' batting average ranked her 6th among the GNAC leaders and her total of 53 hits this season ranked 3rd in the GNAC. Her 13 doubles ranked her 2nd in the league, while her five homers fell into 5th among the GNAC's top sluggers.

Hitting in Emmanuel's lead-off spot all season, Davis was Emmanuel's leader in runs-batted-in with 30 on the year.  The junior captain was named to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll three times this season.  In the field, Davis posted a .918 fielding percentage with 65 put-outs and 58 assists with just 11 errors on the year.

Kilcoyne earned GNAC Pitcher of the Year and 1st Team All-GNAC honors after her stellar performance in the circle for Emmanuel throughout the 2015 campaign. The sophomore hurler struck out an incredible 183 batters this season, 80 more than the next best pitcher in the league.  Her 183 K's ranked Kilcoyne 11th nationally with 9.7 strikeouts per seven innings.  Kilcoyne also posted the lowest earned-run-average in the GNAC with her 1.59 ERA.  Emmanuel's ace threw 16 complete games and rolled to a record of 13-7 on the year.

Kilcoyne is making her second appearance on the GNAC All-Conference squad, after receiving 2nd Team recognition last year as a rookie.  Kilcoyne was named to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll twice and both the GNAC and ECAC New England Pitcher of the Week on April 6th.

2015 GNAC All-Conference Softball Team

First Team
C – Delaney Sylvester, Suffolk (Fr., Worcester, Mass.)
INF – Gillian Fortier, Albertus Magnus (Fr., Naugatuck, Conn.)
INF – Catherine Davis, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Jr., Wethersfield, Conn.)
INF – Kim Jordan, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., Bangor Maine)
INF – Kristen Young, Suffolk (So., Windsor, Conn.)
OF – Patti Sciglimpaglia, St. Joseph (Conn.) (Jr., Norwalk, Conn.)
OF – Jen Field, Simmons (Sr., Windham, Maine)
OF – Devlin Frost, Suffolk (Fr., Tewksbury, Mass.)
DP – Lauren Backhaus, Simmons (Sr., Windsor, Conn.)
UTIL – Theresa Hendrix, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., Scarborough, Maine)
P – Jill Kilcoyne, Emmanuel (So., Worcester, Mass.)
P – Lauren Backhaus, Simmons (Sr., Windsor, Conn.)

Second Team
C – Kristen Solari, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Jr., Old Bridge, N.J.)
INF – Emily Gorecki, Johnson & Wales (RI) (So., Bremerton, Wash.)
INF – Cynthia Proby, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Jr., Bremerton, Wash.)
INF – Mikaela Caracciolo, Simmons (Jr., North Attelboro, Mass.)
INF – Hannah Cunningham, Simmons (Sr., Cotuit, Mass.)
OF – Diana Amendolara, Johnson & Wales (RI) (So., Newtown, Pa.)
OF – Alex Fantasia, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Fr., Framingham, Mass.)
OF – Lia Bobek, Rivier (Jr., Hollis, N.H.)
DP – Emily Schaper, Johnson & Wales (RI) (So., Pompton Lakes, N.J.)
UTIL – Mary Sciglimpaglia, St. Joseph (Conn.) (Jr., Norwalk, Conn.)
P – Samantha Maselli, Albertus Magnus (Fr., Rockville Centre, N.Y.)
P – Erica Boulanger, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Jr., Somersworth, N.H.)

Third Team
C – Jennifer Murphy J, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (So., Andover, Mass.)
INF – Hayley Microulis, Mount Ida (Fr., Pawtucket, R.I.)
INF – Melissa Rome, Norwich (Sr. Enfield, Conn.)
INF – Shaylyn Freitas, Rivier (So., Pelham, N.H.)
INF – Nicole Rosa, Suffolk (Sr. Wallingford, Conn.)
OF – Payton Warner, Norwich (Jr., Harwich, Mass.)
OF – Tori Dugan, Rivier (Fr., Norwalk, Conn.)
OF – Carla Tripp, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (So., Lovell, Maine)
DP – Ashley Tucker, St. Joseph (Conn.) (So., Middletown, Conn.)
UTIL – Kaitlyn Muhlenforth, Mount Ida (So., Bohemia, N.Y.)
P – Jennifer Corona, Johnson & Wales (R.I.) (Fr., Middle Island, N.Y.)
P – Patti Sciglimpaglia, St. Joseph (Conn.) (Jr., Norwalk, Conn.)

Player of the Year – Gillian Fortier, Albertus Magnus (Fr., Naugatuck, Conn.)
Pitcher of the Year – Jill Kilcoyne, Emmanuel (Mass.) (So., Worcester, Mass.)
Rookie of the Year – Gillian Fortier, Albertus Magnus (Fr., Naugatuck, Conn.)
Coach of the Year – Ed Emielita, Albertus Magnus
Institutional Sportsmanship Award – Anna Maria College

All-Sportsmanship Team
Carli Matrisian, Albertus Magnus (Sr., Milford, Conn.)
Nichole Lowe, Anna Maria (Sr., Saugus, Mass.)
Kerrianne Vulpis, Emmanuel (Jr., East Rockaway, N.Y.)
Angelica Reyes, Johnson & Wales (RI) (So., Arleta, Calif.)
Denise Archetto, Lasell (Sr., Cranston, R.I.)
Shannon McArthur, Mount Ida College (So., Coventry, R.I.)
Angie Hershberger, Norwich (Jr., Felton, Calif.)
Kathryn Mostone, Rivier University (Jr. Pelham, N.H.)
Karen Agogliati, St. Joseph (Conn.) (Fr., Portland, Conn.)
Victoria Ramos, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., North Scituate, R.I.)
Alison Gauvin, Simmons (So., Whitefield, Maine)
Sarah Chasse, Suffolk (Sr., Salem, Mass.)