Middle Atlantic Conference

UNION--For the second straight year, the Kean softball team raised more than $2,500 for breast cancer awareness with the team’s “Bat for the Battle” campaign this past Spring. 

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GLASSBORO--By virtue of a 3-0 record in conference tournament play, seconded-seeded William Paterson was crowned 2009 NJAC Softball Champion on May 3 when inclement weather forced the cancellation of Game 10 between the Pioneers and sixth-seeded Montclair State.

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PITMAN--William Paterson senior third baseman Meghan Reilly and Rowan senior right-hander Jackie Sasko have been named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Softball Player and Pitcher of the Year respectively for the 2009 season. Their selections highlighed the 36-member 2009 NJAC Softball All-Conference Team which was announced on April 29. All selections were made by a vote of the league's 10 head coaches.

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MONTCLAIR--Rowan senior right-hander Jackie Sasko and William Paterson senior third baseman Meghan Reily were honored as 2009 Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III All-Americans at the NCAA Softball Championship Banquet hosted by Montclair State on May 14. The banquet preceded the start of NCAA Championship play which will take place at the MSU Softball Complex on May 15-19.

The 2009 NJAC Pitcher of the Year, Sasko was named a First-Team NFCA At-Large All-American after leading the NJAC in wins (21) and strikeouts (181). A two-time first-team NJAC all-conference selection, she posted league-best statistical totals against NJAC competition in both strikeouts (77) and saves (1). On the year, Sasko was 21-5 with a 1.07 earned run average in 177.0 innings pitched. 

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GLASSBORO--Rowan head softball coach Kim Wilson earned her 400th victory at Rowan on  April 22 when the Profs topped Swarthmore in a doubleheader sweep.

In her 13th season at Rowan, Wilson has a 401-144 won-loss record. Her career coaching record stands at 465-201 (16 years). She has guided Rowan to three NJAC Championships and seven NCAA Division III Championship Tournament appearances.

The Profs have advanced to the conference tournament 11 times under Wilson and captured the NJAC title in 2002, 2001 and 1998. The softball team played in the NCAA Regional in 2008, 2006, 2002, 2001, 1999, 1998 and 1997. In 1999, Rowan won the Seed Four Regional and went to the NCAA Championship.

Wilson is a member of the NFCA and serves as the chair of the national All-American committee. She coordinates the selections from the eight regions. Wilson graduated from Slippery Rock University (PA) in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. At Slippery Rock, she played volleyball and softball.




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GLASSBORO, NJ – The Rowan University softball team held a “Strike Out Cancer” fundraiser furing the 2009 season for the American Cancer Society.

The Profs sold paper strikeouts that were displayed at their game on April 18. On that day, a raffle was conducted for two Phillies tickets to a suite and various articles of Rowan athletic gear. The softball team raised $725 that will be donated to the American Cancer Society.

Rowan’s director of alumni relations Kathy Rozanski threw out the first pitch. She is a one-year breast cancer survivor. Rowan student Kevin Mohr won the raffle and claimed the Phillies tickets. 





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MONTCLAIR--Montclair State softball coach Anita Kubicka claimed career coaching victory No. 600 as MSU defeated Hunter College, 1-0 on April 2.
 
 Kubicka joins current MSU baseball coach Norm Schoenig as the only coaches in Montclair State history to reach the 600-win plateau. Now in her 19th season, Kubicka is 601-213-2, and becomes the 10th coach in Division III history to reach the mark as well. Kubicka entered the year ranked 10th all-time in Division III in total victories and winning percentage.
 
 Thirteen times her teams have won 30-plus games, including nine of the last 10 campaigns, and she has led the Red Hawks to 10 NCAA Tournaments. Those 10 appearances include two trips to the national championship tournament where in 1997, MSU finished as the runner-up. Montclair has also won seven ECAC championships under Kubicka’s watch and she has earned several NJAC and Regional Coach of the Year honors.
 
 But Kubicka’s legacy in Montclair State softball history goes beyond the records and accolades on the field. She played a major role in the construction of the MSU Softball that gave her team a first-class facility that matched its success on the field. In May, the stadium will be the site for the NCAA Division III Softball Championship. It marks the first time that Montclair will host a national championship tournament and it will be the first appearance in the East by the tournament in 20 years.
 
 Among the list of 55 players to be named All-American at MSU, Kubicka has coached 35 of them – 15 First-Team selections, including 1992 NCAA Division III Player of the Year Lois Fyfe. Kubicka’s teams have also excelled in the classroom, raking among the top academic athletic teams at Montclair State and place several players each year on the NJAC’s All-Academic Team.
  
 In January, Kubicka was honored for her outstanding career by the New Jersey Sportswriters Association.

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MONTCLAIR--Montclair State head softball coach Anita Kubicka will be among the honored guests as the New Jersey Sports Writers Association holds its 73rd Anniversary Banquet on January 25 at the Pines Manor in Edison, NJ.

Kubicka will be presented with the College Softball Coach of the Year award and will be part of a star-studded group of honorees that include New York Mets All-Star third baseman David Wright, Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel and New York Giants Super Bowl Most Valuable Player O.J. Anderson.

Kubicka is being honored for her outstanding career at Montclair State. Over the past two seasons, no team in the New Jersey Athletic Conference has been better than Kubicka’s Red Hawks which have gone an impressive 34-2 in conference during that time. In 2008, MSU put together its best conference season in program history. Montclair did not lose a single conference game during the regular season posting an 18-0 mark making just the second NJAC squad in league annals to accomplish that feat. In addition to its second straight regular-season crown, Montclair also captured the NJAC Tournament winning twice on the final day to earn its first conference championship since 1997 and its third overall. Montclair State completed 2008 with a 43-6 record, setting the school record for victories and Kubicka and her staff were rewarded as they captured Coaching Staff of the Year honors from both the NJAC and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).

Entering her 19th season at the Red Hawk helm in 2009, Kubicka has far and away won more games than any other coach in Montclair State softball history. In fact, she trails only baseball Norm Schoenig (611 wins) in total victories by an MSU mentor. In 18 seasons Kubicka has posted 587 victories and a .739 winning percentage – both which rank in the Top 15 among active coaches in Division III. Thirteen times her teams have won 30-plus games, including nine of the last 10 campaigns, and she has led the Red Hawks to 10 NCAA Tournaments and two trips to the national championship tournament where in 1997, MSU finished as the runner-up. Montclair has also won seven ECAC championships under Kubicka’s watch and she has earned several NJAC and Regional Coach of the Year honors.

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MONTCLAIR--Montclair State University, home of the Yogi Berra Museum and the Montclair State University Softball Stadium, will be the site of the 2009 NCAA Division III Softball Championship. The 15-game tournament, played over the course of five days, will take place May 15-19, 2009. A champion will emerge from the eight-team double elimination play. The original field of 59 teams will be announced on May 4, 2009.

"We are very proud to host the 2009 NCAA Division III Softball Championships this year," says Holly Gera, Montclair State's director of athletics. "We are looking forward to sharing our campus and our outstanding facilities with the visiting teams and their families."

"The softball committee and I are confident that Montclair State will do an outstanding job of hosting the softball championship," states Jan Gentry, NCAA assistant director of championships.

The softball championship began in 1982 with Eastern Connecticut State capturing the title over host Trenton State College. Current Montclair State head coach Anita Kubicka played in that final.



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CARTERET--NJCU head softball coach Bridgette Quimpo will become the first female inducted into the Carteret High School Athletic Hall of Fame on October 25, as part of that school’s second induction ceremonies.

Quimpo, a four-year, three-sport varsity standout in softball, basketball and tennis for the Ramblers from 1993-97, will be one of 16 inductees in the 2008 class, which will include individuals dating to 1926. The festivities will open with a special ceremony at halftime of the CHS football game on October 24, with the induction dinner held on October 25.

Quimpo, beginning her sixth year at NJCU, said: “To be inducted, period, is already an honor in and of itself. There were many great female athletes before me that are just as deserving as I am. It is very special to be the first female, therefore I feel very honored. I’m just happy because being inducted is a huge honor.”

A June 1997 graduate of Carteret High School, Quimpo, as a senior, was honored with the prestigious Benjamin Zusman Award—presented to a Carteret senior for sportsmanship and athletic ability. She earned All-Greater Middlesex Conference and All-GMC Blue Division honors in all three sports during her career at CHS.

In softball, she was selected Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year in the GMC Blue Division, as the Ramblers won three straight division championships from 1995-97, and claimed the 1996 Central Jersey Group II state sectional crown. Quimpo was chosen to the All-Division, All-Conference, and All-Middlesex County teams, and named All-Area Honorable Mention. In tennis, she was team MVP in 1995 and 1996, while earning All-Division and All-Conference accolades. She secured Most Outstanding Player and All-Division distinction in basketball.

Before becoming an assistant coach, and later head coach at NJCU, Quimpo served as the assistant coach of the softball and basketball teams at Carteret High in 2002 and 2003. She played an important role in guiding the Ramblers to the 2002 Central Jersey Group II state sectional championship in softball, and the 2002-2003 basketball team to the GMC title.

After high school, she was a four-year collegiate standout at catcher for South Carolina-Aiken from 1998-01, and was captain of the Pacers as a senior. She continued her playing career in the Amateur Softball Association Women’s Major Fast Pitch League for the New Jersey Divas which won the 2003 ASA National Championship and she earned ASA First-Team All-American accolades in 2004 and 2006. Quimpo also earned a tryout for the U.S. Olympic Team in 2002.

In addition to her coaching duties at NJCU, she has been a respected clinician and speaker. In 2007, she was a speaker at the 2007 Big Apple Baseball and Softball Coaches Convention in White Plains, NY. She has traveled the country as a clinician working with U.S. Olympic players and coaches, professional softball players and Division I coaches. In December 2007, she ran catching drills for the University of South Florida’s Winter Clinics.


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