GLASSBORO, NJ – Five players from the Rowan University softball team were selected as National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Girls Got Game Scholar-Athletes. The Profs also earned NFCA Girls Got Game Academic Team honors.
Sam Arillo (so. Brick, NJ/Brick Mem.), Kristina Brenner (Vineland, NJ/Vineland), Stephanie Taraschi (sr. Mt. Ephraim, NJ/Audubon), Nicolina Veneziano (so. Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield), and Kristi Wittenwiler (so. Egg Harbor Twp, NJ/Egg Harbor Twp.) all received the academic honor after earning a grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 or above for the 2009 season. With an overall GPA of 3.139, Rowan was one of 77 schools that received the team recognition.
Wittenwiler finished with the highest GPA on the team with a 3.771. She is a health and exercise science major. In addition, Wittenwiler was also a Rowan University Scholar-Athlete and a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) All-Academic honorable mention.
Taraschi earned the second highest GPA (3.766). Majoring in health and exercise science, her numbers on and off the field speak for themselves. A catcher, she finished the season with a batting average of .333. She had 43 hits, 11 doubles, one triple and four home runs. Taraschi’s honors included NJAC All-Conference first team, NFCA East All-Region first team, ECAC All-Star first team and NJAC All-Academic second team.
Veneziano is studying health and exercise science and had a 3.681 GPA. She started in all 47 games at first base and finished the season with a .328 batting average. At the plate, she totaled 38 runs, 45 hits, four doubles, three triples and two home runs. Her honors included Rowan University Scholar-Athlete, NJAC Rookie of the Week three times, NFCA East All-Region second team, NJAC Rookie of the Year, NCAA All-Tournament Team, ECAC Rookie of the Year and ECAC All-Star first team.
New to the team, Arillo boasted the team’s academics with a 3.574 individual GPA while majoring in English. Her efforts in the classroom also qualified her as a Rowan Scholar-Athlete.
Brenner, an elementary education major, graduated in May with a GPA of 3.551. A captain, she had a career batting average of .333 in 172 games. Brenner totaled 159 hits including 13 doubles, nine triples and one home run in her four year career. Her senior year, she earned NJAC All-Conference first team, NJAC All-Academic honorable mention and Rowan Scholar-Athlete honors.