Setting the Bar Higher (by Chip Knighton - Charlottesville Daily Progress)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Radford softball standout
Kristen Shifflett (Charlottesville, Va./Monticello) continues to earn recognition for her 2010 campaign as the junior shortstop has been named the 2009-10 Big South Conference Female Athlete of the Year, announced by the Conference office Wednesday.
Shifflett is the first softball player to garner the award, and the second individual from Radford to be honored, joining former track & field standout Tiffany Evans (2006). The former walk-on received 88 points and 10 first-place votes, finishing ahead of Coastal Carolina golfer Aruka Felgueroso, who was second with 52 points and six first-place votes. Liberty track & field athlete Jaime Watson was third with 44 points and one first-place vote, while Gardner-Webb women’s basketball stat Margaret Roundtree was fourth with 40 points. Sprinter Ikeiylah Brown (Coastal Carolina) and Natalie Pearson (UNC Asheville) tied for fifth in the voting with 34 points each.
Shifflett helped guide Radford to a 38-17 overall record, 16-2 Big South mark and the club’s second straight Big South Championship and first-ever NCAA Regional finals appearance in 2010. Along with being named Big South and VaSID State Player of the Year, she garnered NFCA First-Team All-Region accolades. Shifflett batted .615 with a double, two home runs (both vs. No. 24 Florida State), four RBI and a 1.154 slugging percentage in the NCAA Softball Regionals. In the 3-2 Regional win over Florida State, Shifflett hit the game-tying long ball and later scored the game-winning run to lead the Highlanders into the Regional finals – a first for any Radford athletic program.
"This is a tremendous honor for Kristen, Radford Softball and Radford Athletics," said head coach
Mickey Dean. "I am extremely proud of her and what she has accomplished, not only this season, but during her entire career. I truly believe this award is a culmination of all the hard work Kristen and the entire team put in throughout the season."
A threat from the leadoff spot, she concluded her season with a nine-game hitting streak and recorded a hit in 42 of her last 48 contests. The two-time Big South Tournament MVP led the Conference in batting (.426), runs (58), runs per game (1.05), hits (78), hits per game (1.42), slugging (.760), on-base percentage (.478), total bases (139) and stolen bases (23). In addition, Shifflett ranked in the top five in home runs, doubles and RBI.
Shifflett ranked nationally in runs (13th), batting average (17th), slugging (29th), home runs per game (42nd) and home runs (48th). She posted a Big South-best 26 multi-hit games, along with registering the top fielding percentage among League shortstops. In Conference play this season, Shifflett led the League in hits (26), home runs (7), runs scored (22) and slugging percentage (.898).
Shifflett, who has been voted First-Team All-Conference all three years of her career, is Radford’s all-time leader in home runs (36) and runs scored (150), and is the first player in school history with 200 career hits prior to her senior year (201).
In March 2000, the Big South Conference Executive Committee voted to create an annual Male and Female Student-Athlete of the Year award, and name the male award in honor of Howard Bagwell, one of the founders of the Big South Conference. The annual nominees consist of the Players of the Year from each sport for the regular season most recently completed and are voted on by the League’s Athletics Directors, Senior Woman Administrators and Sports Information Directors.
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
2009-10........ Kristen Shifflett, Radford (softball)
2008-09........ Megan Frazee, Liberty (basketball)
2007-08........ Megan Frazee, Liberty (basketball)
2006-07........ Aruka Felgueroso, Coastal Carolina (golf)
2005-06........ Tiffany Evans, Radford (track & field)
2004-05........ Katie Feenstra, Liberty (basketball)
2003-04........ Katie Feenstra, Liberty (basketball)
2002-03........ Amber Campbell, Coastal Carolina (track & field)
2001-02........ Heather Sagan, Liberty (track & field)
2000-01........ Amber Campbell, Coastal Carolina (track & field)
1999-00........ Anthonia Akpama, Liberty (volleyball)