May 23, 2001
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Arizona softball players Jennie Finch, Toni Mascarenas,
Lauren Bauer, Leneah Manuma and Nicole Giordano were named 2001
All-Americans at Women's College World Series banquet ceremonies here
Wednesday night.
Giordano earned third-team at-large selection from the National Fastpitch
Coaches Associatin while the other four were named to the NFCA first-team
All-America squad.
Finch, a pitcher, leads Arizona into the World Series with a 29-0 record
and a nation-best 0.38 earned run average. Third baseman Mascarenas is
among national leaders with 22 home runs and sports a .411 batting average
and 77 RBI. Bauer, hitting .450, has 104 hits and 37 stolen bases. Manuma,
a fresman designated player, has 19 home runs and 61 RBI. Giordano, UA's
left fielder, is hitting .400 with 61 runs scored and 32 RBI.
Arizona, the top seed in the Series and the nation's No. 1 in the final
NFCA regular-season rankings, had more players selected than any other
team. No. 2 seed UCLA had four players picke, as did defending NCAA
Champion Oklahoma. Stanford, the No. 6 seed, had four players including
three first-team picks. Among those was Tucsonan Sara Beeson, a first baseman.
Other first-team selections inclue pitcher Britni Sneed of LSU, pitcher
Dana Sorensen of Stanford, catcher Stacey Nuveman of UCLA, second baseman
Kelsey Kollen of Michigan, shorstop Natasha Watley of UCLA, outfielder
Kelly Kretschman of Alabama, outfielder Oli Keohohou of BYU, utility player
Kellie Wilkerson of Mississippi State, and at-large picks Kelli Braitsch
(ss, Oklahoma), Kristi Hanks (p, Iowa), Jessica Mendoza (of, Stanford),
Veronica Nelson (1b, California) and Jenny Topping (c, Cal State Fullerton).
