Sept. 8, 2011

CHICAGO - The UIC softball team begins their fall season Saturday as the Flames welcome alumni back to campus. Events for the day begin with an intrasquad scrimmage at 2:00 p.m. (CT) at Flames Field in Chicago, Ill., followed by a presentation of the team's championship rings from their first-place finish at the 2011 Horizon League Conference tournament. Former Flames student-athletes then take the field for an alumni game, which is slated to begin at 4:00 p.m.

"We are so excited to celebrate our alumni this weekend," said head coach Michelle Venturella. "It's fun to have them meet the current UIC team and for our team to get to know the people who wore the Flames uniform before them. They are the foundation of this program and have set a high standard of what being a Flame is all about."

The Flames return a slew of former softball student-athletes. Among them are Nikki Endress Lotus (Kankakee, Ill./Kankakee), Tricia Charbonneau (Moline, Ill./Moline), Samantha Iuli (Chulsa Vista, Calif./Hilltop), Michelle Peterson (Highland, Ind./Highland), Kathleen Casey Horn (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook), Andrea Milner (Griswold, Iowa/Griswold), Amy Gonzales (Morton Grove, Ill./Niles North) , Molly Freeman (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Fremd), Sarah Clynes (Florrisant, Mo./St. Joseph's Academy), Abby Booth Degliomini (Orland Park, Ill./Stagg), Nikki Rogers (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport), Carly DeMarco (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) and Claire Donyanavard (Valencia, Calif./Saugus).

Iuli returns to Flames Field where she was an All-American pitcher honoree in 1998 (third team) and '99 (second team). During the '98 season she notched 311 strikeouts (1.04 ERA), while adding eight homeruns and 46 RBI. During the '99 campaign she improved to 366 strikeouts (1.12 ERA), 11 homeruns and 78 RBI. She also garnered Horizon League pitcher of the year during those same seasons.

Among the alumni who received all-conference honors are Endress (1997, first team, outfield), Charbonneau (1995, second team, 1996-98, first team, third base), Iuli (1997, all-newcomer team, 1998-00, first team, pitcher), Casey (2000, first team, first base), Freeman (1999, first team, outfield) and Booth (1998, all-newcomer team, first team, outfield). All of these awards were received when the team was still a member of the Midwest Collegiate Conference, before the Flames joined the Horizon League Conference in 2002.