Kalafatis, Assistants Named NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year – Ohio State Buckeyes
7/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Big Ten Coach of the Year Kalafatis and her staff receive Ohio State’s first regional honor
COLUMBUS, Ohio The honors continue to come in for the Buckeyes after their record-setting 2007 season as the National Fastpitch Coaches Association has named Linda Kalafatis and her assistants as the Great Lakes Region Coaching Staff of the Year. Kalafatis, along with assistant coaches Ali Viola and Erica Beach and volunteer assistant Kim Doran, guided Ohio State to a historic season in which the Buckeyes captured the program’s first Big Ten title in 17 years and their first Big Ten tournament championship.
Ohio State finished the year 40-18, won back-to-back NCAA tournament games for the first time and came within one win of a berth in the NCAA Super Regional. Kalafatis was also named the Big Ten Coach of the Year in May for the second time in her career.
“This recognition obviously has everything to do with what our student-athletes did on the field and the efforts of our support staff for putting them in position to have success,” Kalafatis said. “In addition, I have an incredibly talented and dedicated coaching staff and we absolutely loved being in the trenches with our 2007 team. We believe that great things are in store for Ohio State softball and this season is a reflection of that. As the Great Lakes Coaching Staff of the Year, we are more than honored to represent an outstanding conference and the best university in the country!”
The regional honor is the first for an OSU coaching staff and came thanks to a tremendous finish in which the Buckeyes went 28-6 to end the season and rattled off 21-consecutive home wins that included a pair of Big Ten trophy presentations. Ohio State went 14-2 in the Big Ten for its second league crown (1990) and swept through the Big Ten tournament with a 3-0 record that included a 2-1 win over sixth-ranked Northwestern on national television.
Prior to the honor for the coaching staff, three Buckeyes received all-region honors as senior Jamee Juarez (utility) and Sam Marder (catcher) were first-team selections and junior Brittany Vanderink (second base) was a second-team selection.
### GO BUCKS! ###
