LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) recently announced that eight Simmons College softball players were among the 4,687 softball players across seven membership divisions to earn NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete honors for the 2013-14 academic year.
NCAA Division I, with 1,105 honorees, had the most student-athletes with a 3.5 grade-point average or higher, while 1,020 players in NCAA Division III scored recognition, followed by 741 in the High School Unweighted category. NCAA Division II had 695 honorees, High School Weighted amassed 584 recipients, NAIA had 359 and Junior College totaled 183. In all, more than 400 different schools scored academic honors. For the complete listing of NFCA All-America Scholar Athletes by membership division and school, click
Graduated senior Christina Mulcahy (Cambridge, Mass.), current seniors Jen Field (Windham, Maine), Alaina DeNoncour (Johnston, R.I.), Victoria Luongo (Medford, Mass.) and Hannah Cunningham (Cotuit, Mass.), current junior Heather White (Westfield, Mass.) and current sophomores Tanya Stasio (Revere, Mass.) and Janyne Sierra (Everett, Mass.) were all chosen by the NFCA as All-America Scholar-Athletes.
Mulcahy started all 36 games that she appeared in and batted .240 (25-104) with a .352 on-base percentage. The outfielder reached base via walk or hit-by-pitch 18 times to rank second on the team and scored 20 runs to place fifth for the Sharks in her final season.
Field earned Great Northeast Athletic Conference All-Conference Second Team honors after hitting .352 (25-71) in 28 games, while owning a .419 on-base mark. The left fielder started every game she played in and established career highs in hits, runs batted in, stolen bases, batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.
DeNoncour started 27 of 30 games and batted. 265 (22-83) with a .351 on-base average. The third baseman knocked in 17 runs and smacked five doubles to rank fourth on the team in both categories.
Luongo started 26 of 27 contests and batted .208 (5-24) with a .367 on-base percentage, serving as the team's best defensive catcher, handling 147 chances without a miscue. The backstop helped contribute to a pitching staff that posted a 2.12 earned run average.
Cunningham was named to the GNAC All-Conference Third Team after hitting a solid .295 (31-105) with a .364 on-base percentage. The shortstop scored 30 times to rank second on the team and rapped out 31 hits to stand fourth for the Sharks, while getting the starting nod in 31 games.
White turned in a sensational second year, hitting .375 (45-120) with a team-high 36 RBI, which was good for third among league leaders and slugged .550 to go with a .419 on-base percentage. The center fielder started all 36 games she appeared in and topped Simmons with four round trippers, while striking out just eight times in 130 plate appearances.
Stasio appeared in nine contests as a rookie for the Sharks last year. The outfielder saw important action as a pinch runner and scored five runs, while owning a .333 on-base percentage.
Sierra was also in her first year for Simmons and made the most of her time, hitting .375 (6-16) with a pair of doubles as part of a .500 slugging mark. The infielder also posted a .412 on-base percentage in 10 games.
The Sharks finished the 2014 campaign with a 27-10 record, including a gaudy 17-5 mark in league play and played in the GNAC Championship game, before falling to Saint Joseph's College (Maine) on April 27 in Standish, Maine.