Meaghan Asselta Named Anaconda Sports MAAC Coach of the Year

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. ? Manhattan College softball head coach Meaghan Asselta has been named Anaconda Sports Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Coach of the Year, the conference announced Thursday morning at the annual postseason awards breakfast.  Asselta led the Lady Jaspers to a share of the MAAC regular season title and the No. 2 seed in the MAAC Tournament, which begins on Thursday.  In addition, sophomores Melissa Donnelly (Long Beach, N.Y.), Ashley Rampino (Manalapan, N.J.) and Kristina Walraven (Thompson Ridge, N.Y.) were selected to the All-MAAC First Team.

In her third season as head coach, Asselta guided the Lady Jaspers to a 19-25 record during the regular season.  Manhattan's 11-5 MAAC record was the best in program history, and the team won as many MAAC games this season as it won overall in 2008.  The Lady Jaspers were picked to finish seventh in the MAAC preseason coaches poll, but ended up winning a share of the regular season championship for the first time in program history.  She is the first coach in program history to win MAAC Coach of the Year honors.

Donnelly, who has started games at three different positions this season, was named First Team All-MAAC as a utility player.  The only player to start all 44 games so far, Donnelly currently ranks third on the team with a .277 batting average.  She is second on the squad with four home runs and 19 RBIs, and tied for second with 33 hits.  Donnelly leads Manhattan with eight doubles.  She hit the game-winning home run to beat Marist and Siena on consecutive days (April 17-18), including a walk-off shot against Marist.  She has also made 17 appearances in the circle and is tied for the team lead with seven wins.  Donnelly pitched a complete game in Manhattan's 10-inning win at Fairfield on Monday that clinched a share of the regular season title.

Rampino was named the First Team All-MAAC designated player.  She leads the Lady Jaspers with five home runs and 27 RBIs, and ranks second on the team with 33 hits and a .287 batting average.  She earned MAAC Player of the Week honors on April 27 after belting the game-winning grand slam and picking up the save at Iona on April 25, part of a six-RBI day.  Rampino also leads the pitching staff with 26 appearances, 78 strikeouts, 112 innings and seven wins.  This marks the fourth consecutive year that Manhattan's DP has landed on the All-MAAC First Team.

Walraven has started 42 games in center field and leads the Lady Jaspers with a .338 batting average.  She also paces Manhattan with 44 hits and 25 runs scored, and ranks third on the team with 15 RBIs.  In MAAC games, Walraven hit a conference-best .455 (25-for-55).  She was named MAAC Player of the Week on April 6 after hitting .643 (9-for-14) in four games against Wagner and Niagara.  Walraven drove in the game-winning run in Manhattan's pennant-clinching victory at Fairfield on Monday and put together a team-high eight-game hitting streak during the season.

In addition, seven Lady Jaspers were selected to the MAAC All-Academic Team.  Seniors Devon Gustafson (Peoria, Ariz.) and Danielle Just (Woodcliff Lake, N.J.), and sophomores Melissa Cascio (Kings Park, N.Y.), Gianna Cirilli (Little Ferry, N.J.), Kaitlin Rodriguez (Dumont, N.J.), Erika Sullivan (Bay Shore, N.Y.) and Walraven were recognized for their work in the classroom.  To be eligible for the MAAC All-Academic Team, student-athletes must have completed at least two semesters at their institution and have a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher.

The Lady Jaspers make their first MAAC Tournament appearance since 2005 on Thursday afternoon, when they take on two-time defending MAAC champion Canisius (25-24, 9-7 MAAC) at 1 p.m.  The winner takes on either Fairfield (21-26, 11-5 MAAC) or Niagara (26-16, 9-7 MAAC) at 11 a.m. on Friday, while the loser meets the loser of the Fairfield-Niagara game on Friday at 1 p.m.