Kalafatis and Allen Named Big Ten Coach and Player of the Year – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/9/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 9, 2002
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Seven members of the No. 20 Ohio State softball team were honored with Big Ten honors Thursday night at the conference’s annual awards banquet held in Ann Arbor, Mich. Linda Kalafatis, OSU head coach, was selected by the conference coaches as the coach of the year, the first for the program since Gail Davenport in 1990, while sophomore pitcher/utility player Wendy Allen (So., Moreno Valley, Calif./Moreno Valley) garnered player of the year accolades. Allen joined Anna Smith (Sr., Walnut, Calif./Diamond Bar), a unanimous choice, and Stacy Roth (Sr., Wauseon, Ohio/Wauseon) as members of the All-Big Ten First Team while Jennifer Link (Jr., Yorba Linda, Calif./Sonora), Katie Chain (Jr., North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) and Kristine Himes (Jr., Bolivar, Ohio/Tuscarawas Valley) earned third team selections.
“It is a great honor for the coaches to choose to me as the best in the conference,” Kalafatis said. “It is not the award we wanted tonight (the regular season championship trophy) but we will keep trying. All the awards are great for the recognition of the program but we missed out on the one we wanted.
“Wendy’s award was fantastic,” Kalafatis said. “I thought we had two player of the candidates in Anna Smith and Wendy. We would not have gotten as far as we did without either of them playing the way they did but I believe the way Wendy helped us out with her pitching and batting got her the award. The coaches recognized that and they rewarded her for it. They saw her talent and this is great for Wendy.”
Allen went 16-4 in the circle this year with a conference-best 0.88 ERA while batting .385 with nine home runs and 17 doubles. Her 128 strikeouts thrown were the second-most on the team behind Chain’s 189 (a program record) and her .176 batting average allowed was tops in the Big Ten. The honor for Allen is the second of her career after taking home freshman of the year honors a year ago.
“I was really surprised to hear my name called,” Allen said. “I thought (Stephanie) Volpe (Michigan) or Anna (Smith) would have won it over me but it is a great honor. The award is great because it means I have done well in all aspects of my game and I have become a well-rounded player. I am really proud to win this award and now I hope we can win a few more game and the (conference tournament) championship.”
Roth garnered her third All-Big Ten selection and her first with the first team while Smith and Link also secured their third all-conference selections while at Ohio State. Roth set the all-time career and single-season RBI record this year with 159 and 59, respectively and is one of the Top 10 average hitters in OSU annals. Smith is second in the nation in batting with a .519 average and set records this year in career and single-season runs scored, hits and stolen bases. Link, a staple at second base, has been a consistent lead off hitter for the Buckeyes as her offensive production this year has put her in position to break many of the records being set this year.
Chain makes her second conference team after a first team selection a year ago. She is the all-time strikeout leader at OSU with 499 in her career and has fired 190 this year, also a record. Himes, the most prolific home run hitter in Buckeye history, garnered her first All-Big Ten honor with a spot on the third team with Chain.
The Buckeyes face No. 1 seed Michigan at 2:30 p.m. Friday for a spot in the championship game.
2002 All-Big Ten Softball Teams First Team Marissa Young, JR, Michigan* P Andrea Kirchberg, JR, Wisconsin P Alicia Gerlach, SR, Iowa 1B Kelsey Kollen, SR, Michigan 2B Lindsey Hamma, SO, Illinois SS Stefanie Volpe, SR, Michigan 3B Monica Shock, SO, Michigan C LeeAnn Butcher, FR, Illinois OF Anna Smith, SR, Ohio State* OF Gina Bianchini, JR, Penn State OF Wendy Allen, SO, Ohio State UT Stacy Roth, SR, Ohio State DP
Second Team Kristi Hanks, SR, Iowa P Nicole Motycka, FR, Michigan P Natalie Furrow, SO, Michigan State 1B Christina Schmaltz, SO, Iowa 2B Carri Leto, SO, Northwestern SS Brittney Green, SO, Michigan State 3B Jessica Bashor, JR, Iowa C Meghan Doe, JR, Michigan OF Tiffany Wallace, JR, Michigan State OF Angi Roembke, JR Purdue OF Melinda Moulden, JR, Michigan UT Gretchen Barnes, SR, Northwestern DP
Third Team Piper Marten, SO, Minnesota P Katie Chain, JR, Ohio State P Erin Norton, JR, Penn State 1B Jennifer Link, JR, Ohio State 2B Kristin Johnson, JR, Iowa SS Kristine Himes, JR, Ohio State 3B Janna Sartini, SO, Illinois C Liz Dennis, SR, Iowa OF Sandy Lewis, JR, Michigan State OF Kelley Galigher, JR, Penn State OF Brooke Monroe, SR, Indiana UT Lori Leon, SR, Iowa DP
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Wendy Allen, Ohio State PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Marissa Young, Michigan FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Nicole Motycka, Michigan COACH OF THE YEAR: Linda Kalafatis, Ohio State
*unanimous selections
