May 12, 2004
Chicago, Ill.- It was a near clean sweep for the UIC softball team at the Horizon League Softball Awards Banquet at the Chicago Athletic Club on Wednesday night.
Senior designated player Amanda Rivera (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union) was named the 2004 Horizon League Softball Player of the Year, senior Alison Aguilar (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif./Peninsula) earned Co-Pitcher of the Year honors, freshman catcher Elizabeth Jacoby (Beecher, Ill./Marian Catholic) took home the Newcomer of the Year award and Sarah O'Malley-Fisher and Tom Gray garnered Co-Coach of the Year accolades at the Chicago Athletic Club on Wednesday night.
All in all, eight UIC players also earned All-Horizon league honors.
Junior outfielder Cameron Astiazaran (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif./Peninsula) and sophomore shortstop Joyce Cathey (Reno, Nev./Reno) joined Rivera and Aguilar on the All-Horizon League First Team.
Senior first baseman Alycia Creese (Covina, Calif./Charter Oak) and sophomore outfielder Nicole Shepard (Diamond Bar, Calif./Troy) both earned a spot on the All-Horizon League Second Team while Jacoby joined rookie pitcher Chelsey Barclay (San Jose, Calif./Arch Bishop Mitty) on the All-Horizon League Newcomer Team.
For O'Malley-Fisher and Gray, this is the first time they have taken home coach of the year honors in their third season as co-head coaches for the Flames. They led UIC to a 35-21 overall record and the regular-season Horizon League title, finishing with a 16-1 league mark, the second-most league victories in school history.
Rivera set the school and league single-season home run record with 19 this year while also shattering the UIC and Horizon League career mark with 51. She also ranks in the top 10 nationally in both home runs (6th) and RBI (7th, 53). Versus league opponents, Rivera batted .465 with eight homers and 17 RBI while boasting a 1.093 slugging percentage and a .641 on-base percentage with a team-high 20 league walks.
She is the third player in UIC history to take home league player of the year honors, joining former All-Americans Samantha Iuli (1998, 1999) and Stefanie Christoferson (2000, 2001).
This is also the fourth consecutive year that Rivera has earned All-Horizon League accolades and the third year she has earned a spot on the all-league first team.
For Aguilar, this is the second time she has been named the Horizon League's Co-Pitcher of the Year, last earning the award back in 2002. She shares the honors with Loyola's Lindsey LaChiana.
Aguilar is the second pitcher in UIC history with a pair of pitcher of the year awards to her credit. Iuli won the award on three occasions from 1998-2000.
The Rolling Hills, Calif., product went a perfect 5-0 this season versus league foes with a 1.23 ERA. She also leads the team with 13 total wins, including a 3-1 victory over #7 Stanford on March 21st.
This is the third time in Aguilar's career that she has also taken home All-Horizon League honors and her second appearance on the all-league first team.
Jacoby took her game to another level the second half of the season en route to earning the Horizon League Newcomer of the Year Award. She posted a .393 league average as the Flames' primary catcher while boosting her overall batting average to .293, the highest average of any UIC freshman. Jacoby has homered twice this season while driving in 16 runs.
She is the first UIC player to win the newcomer of the year award since Rory Gonzales-Gould back in 1999.
Rivera and Aguilar aren't the only Flames to have stacked up All-Horizon League honors, as this is the second time that Creese, Astiazaran and Cathey have been recognized.
Creese is UIC's third-leading hitter with a .327 average on a career-best 53 hits. She also has three home runs and 19 RBI this season. In the circle, she is 6-2 overall this year, including a 4-0 mark with two saves and an ERA of 0.78 in league contests.
Astiazaran has enjoyed a career-year thus far for the Flames as she leads the Horizon League in batting average (.393), hits (72), runs (47) and doubles (24). Astiazaran also owns a career-high eight home runs and 38 RBI this season.
Cathey has been steady all year for UIC at shortstop, boasting a .348 average versus league foes with two doubles, two triples and nine RBI.
Shepard, Jacoby and Barclay are all first time all-league honorees.
Shepard shook off an injury early in the season and came alive in league play, batting .412 in 17 league contests with seven doubles, a home run and a Horizon League-best 18 RBI. She is batting a career-high .303 overall this year.
Barclay is one of three Flames starters with at least eight wins as she is 8-6 this season with a 2.67 ERA. She is 4-1 versus league opponents with 1.19 ERA.
The Flames will be back in action on Thursday as they take on Wright State in their Horizon League Tournament opener at 1:00 p.m.
