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RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Manhattan College catcher Elena Bowman (San Mateo, Calif.), the 2015 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Player of the Year, has been selected to play for the College All-Stars in a pair of exhibition games against the USA Softball National Team. The doubleheader will take place at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Moody Park in Ewing Township, N.J.
Bowman unanimously earned MAAC Player of the Year honors after leading the league in batting average (.446), home runs (16) and RBIs (41) during the 2015 season. She also ranked among the top 10 nationally in on-base percentage (ninth, .586) and slugging percentage (10th, .920). Manhattan's Co-Female Student-Athlete of the Year, Bowman was chosen to the ECAC All-Star First Team and All-Northeast Region Second Team. In addition, she became the first Manhattan player named to the Capital One Academic All-America© First Team since 1994.
She's currently playing for the Stratford Brakettes, one of the top amateur teams in the country. Last summer, Bowman was named MVP of the Women's Major Softball National Championship, as the Brakettes won their fifth consecutive national title.
“I'm really excited for this opportunity,” Bowman said. “It's something you dream about. I can't wait to take the field with the best players in the world and hopefully learn something from them. It should be a great experience. I'm really looking forward to it.”
“This is an incredible honor for Elena, and it's one she certainly deserves,” Head Coach Tom Pardalis said. “I've always felt she's one of the best players in the country, and the opportunity to play against the National Team will only make her better.”
The exhibition games against the College All-Stars are among Team USA's final tune-ups before the start of the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. Team USA, which just won the World Cup of Softball for the seventh time, is the seven-time defending Pan American Games gold medalists.
