University of Delaware Athletics
Kondravy Earns First Team All-CAA Softball Honors, Steinmetz Selected Rookie of the Year
5/10/2016 1:02:00 PM | Softball
RICHMOND, Va. -- University of Delaware sophomore Mariah Kondravy was named to the All-Colonial Athletic Association Softball First Team while freshman catcher Anna Steinmetz was selected CAA Rookie of the Year as the league announced its all-conference selections on Tuesday.
Sophomore shortstop Leanna Gearhart and senior outfielder Gabby Klecko joined Steinmetz on the All-CAA Second Team while Gearhart, who carries a 3.58 grade point average as an exercise science major, was the Blue Hens' representative on the CAA All-Academic Team.
Kondravy (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty), who has started every game this season, earns her second All-CAA honor after getting named to the second team as a freshman. Kondravy has started games at rightfield and first base, along with at the designated player spot, and leads the Blue Hens with 18 multi-hit games on the year.
Her .381 batting average is the highest on the squad and fourth in the CAA, while she also is tied for second in the conference with 14 doubles. Additionally, Kondravy is tied for fourth in the league with 41 RBI and fifth with 59 hits. She already ranks second in Blue Hen history with 19 career homers, four shy of the school record, and is fifth at UD with 96 RBI. She becomes the Delaware's first All-CAA first team selection since Jenny Richards in 2010.
Steinmetz (Glen Mills, Pa./West Chester Bayard Rustin), who was also named to the CAA All-Rookie Team, has started all 48 games during her freshman season including 33 behind the plate, ranking second in the CAA and second in a UD single season with 13 home runs. She is batting .302 on the year, while her 40 RBI are second on the team and fourth most in Blue Hen single season history.
Steinmetz leads the squad with 12 multi-RBI games and 20 walks during the year, ranks second with nine doubles, and is third with 45 hits and 24 runs scored. She becomes the third Blue Hen softball player to earn conference Rookie of the Year honors, along with Mandy Welch in the America East Conference in 1999 and Allison Borchers in the CAA in 2005.
Gearhart (Robbinsville, N.J./Robbinsville), who has started all 48 games at shortstop for the Blue Hens while serving as a team captain, leads the CAA with 51 runs scored and 42 stolen bases, both UD single season records. She also is the conference leader with eight triples, one shy of the Division I lead, and ranks second on the team and ninth in the league with a .346 batting average.
Gearhart, who at one point this season set a UD record by stealing 22 consecutive bases without getting caught, has hit safely in all but nine games on the year. She already ranks second in school history with 53 steals and 19 triples, and tied for sixth with 88 runs scored.
Klecko (Colts Neck, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) appeared in 43 games while making 41 starts in the Blue Hen outfield before suffering a season-ending hand injury against Mount St. Mary's on Apr. 27. She ranks second on the team and fifth in the league with 18 stolen bases this year, and is also second on the Blue Hens with 33 runs scored.
Additionally, Klecko ranks fourth on the squad with 30 hits and a .331 batting average, and ends her career fourth in UD history with 30 career steals. She posted 12 multi-hit games on the season, third most on UD, and recorded three-hit games against Morgan State and Delaware State.
Delaware had four players represented on the All-CAA First or Second Team for the first time since 2004, while the Blue Hens featured an All-Rookie Team honoree for the eighth consecutive year.
Delaware finished its regular season with a 29-19 overall record, and earned the fifth seed in the CAA Championship with a 9-9 league mark. The Blue Hens open tournament play today at 3 p.m. against fourth-seeded Elon at James Madison's Veterans Memorial Park.
2016 All-Colonial Athletic Association Softball Teams
CAA Player of the Year: Jailyn Ford, James Madison
CAA Pitcher of the Year: Megan Good, James Madison
CAA Defensive Player of the Year: Erica Field, James Madison
CAA Rookie of the Year: Anna Steinmetz, Delaware
CAA Coach of the Year: Mickey Dean, James Madison
First Team: Erica Field (C, James Madison); Holiday Cahill (1B, Towson); Madyson Moran (2B, James Madison); Brook Miko (SS, Towson); Paula Ueno (3B, Drexel); Chloe Fitzgerald (OF, Hofstra); Brielle Pietrafesa (OF, Hofstra); Kara Shutt (OF, Elon); Mariah Kondravy (DP/Utility/Non-P, Delaware); Jailyn Ford (Utility/P, James Madison); Megan Good (P, James Madison); Ambar Hickman (P, Towson).
Second Team: Anna Steinmetz (C, Delaware); Shelby Stracher (C, Towson); Nikki Michalowski (1B, Hofstra); Lacey Clark (2B, Hofstra); Leanna Gearhart (SS, Delaware); Morgan Tolle (3B, James Madison); Gabby Klecko (OF, Delaware); Rebecca Mueller (OF, Charleston); Taylor Newton (OF, James Madison); Merritt Wilkinson (OF, UNCW); Taylor DuPree (DP/Utility/Non-P, Charleston); Valerie Cassell (Utility/P, Charleston); Peyton Jordan (P, UNCW); Kayla Caruso (P, Elon); Samantha Martin (P, Charleston).
All-Rookie Team: Hannah Adamczyk (3B, UNCW); Madison Ambush (C/INF, Hofstra); Madison Brown (OF, Charleston); Jennelle Ladrido (OF, Drexel); Haley Lenderman (P, UNCW); Erica Serafini (INF/OF, Elon); Kelly Sinclair (INF, Charleston); Anna Steinmetz (C, Delaware); Elise Walton (Elon); Rachel Willis (Utility, UNCW).
All-Academic Team: Chandler Frisbie (Charleston); Leanna Gearhart (Delaware); Lindsey Gibbs (Drexel); Lauren Moore (UNCW); Emily Roper (Elon), Ashley Samuels (James Madison); Kim Smith (Hofstra); Olivia Yarbrough (Towson).
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Kevin Tritt at: ktritt@udel.edu (email) / 302-831-8715 (office) / 302-383-5005 (cell)
