Simmons Softball freshman Emily Cunningham (Cotuit, Mass.) was named 2011 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year, and senior Annie Thompson (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) was named GNAC Player of the Year.

Cunningham and Thompson were also given spots on the GNAC All-Conference First Team along with freshman Christina Mulcahy (Cambridge, Mass.) and senior Courteney Collier (Bolton, Mass.) Senior Emily Nalband (Litchfield, Conn.) also made the Second Team.

The honors follow a season in which GNAC Coach of the Year Anne Hennigan led the Sharks to a 24-15 regular season record (19-5 GNAC), and an appearance in the conference tournament semifinal round.

"These awards are a great tribute to how hard the team has worked this season," said Hennigan. "I am so proud of each of them and I'm delighted that the conference has recognized their success. Since the season began these student-athletes have pushed themselves and each other to become better softball players. As coaches, we pushed this team harder than we have pushed any other team; I'm so glad that their effort, dedication and talent did not go unnoticed."