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RIPON, WIS. -- St. Norbert shortstop Steph Brunette and Ripon pitcher Stephanie Rieuwpassa were named the 2011 MWC North Division Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, while Lawrence skipper Kim Tatro was named the division’s Coach of the Year. Brunette is the second Green Knight to take home Player of the Year honors while Rieuwpassa is the first Red Hawk to earn Pitcher of the Year honors since the 2008 season. Tatro was voted Coach of the Year for the sixth time in her tenure at Lawrence, the first time since 2006 when she shared the honor with Ripon’s Kelly Witte.
Brunette is the second consecutive Green Knight to win the Player of the Year award after Tracey Palmer won the away last season. Brunette finished the season sixth in the NCAA with a .535 average while also leading the conference in runs scored (45), hits (77), doubles (17), triples (5) and total bases (116). She led the Green Knights to the MWC Tournament Championship game by hitting .333 with two doubles, two triples, a home run and four RBI in five tournament games.
Rieuwpassa was the ace of a Ripon staff that led the MWC in almost every pitching category and led the Red Hawks to their second MWC Tournament Championship in school history. She led the entire league with a 1.18 ERA and held hitter to only a .201 average while winning 11 games. Rieuwpassa struck out 129 batters, 33 looking, in only 106.2 innings pitched while hitting .343 with a team-high 12 doubles for the Red Hawks.
Tatro wins her sixth MWC North Division Coach of the Year award, her first since 2006, after leading the Vikings in her 18th season as head coach. In 18 years she has compiled a record of 291-259-1, all at Lawrence University.
Monmouth nearly swept the MWC South Division awards as they had Megan Butler earn the Pitcher of the Year honor while teammate Lauren Bergstresser was named Co-MWC South Division Player of the Year. Lake Forest third baseman Aubrey Pendegraft shared Player of the Year award with Bergstresser and Monmouth’s John Goddard was voted Coach of the Year.
Bergstresser and Pendegraft were the first pair to share the South Divisions Player of the Year award since 2007 when a pair of Lake Forest teammates shared the honors. Bergstresseer led the Fighting Scots to the MWC Tournament after hitting a team-high .403 during the regular season with 52 hits. She also finished third in the conference with 15 stolen bases and struck out only five times in 135 plate appearances. Pendegraft led the Foresters with 20 extra base hits (12 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR) and drove in 30 runs while hitting .383. She also held the team-high in hits (41) and scored 23 runs with a OPS of 1.127.
The Fighting Scots have the MWC South Division Pitcher of the Year for the third time in the last four years after Butler claimed the 2011 version. Butler finished third in the league with a 2.58 ERA in 38 innings pitched. In 22 appearances Butler earned a 6-2 record and recorded four saves, most in the MWC.
This is the second time that Monmouth Head Coach John Goddard was named MWC South Division Coach of the Year, the first time since the 2008 season. Goddard led the Fighting Scots to the MWC South title with a 22-14 overall mark and a near perfect 12-1 record in division play. He improves his career record to 66-70 in four years at Monmouth.
2011 North Division Award Winners
| Player of the Year |
Steph Brunette |
St. Norbert College |
| Pitcher of the Year |
Stephanie Rieuwpassa |
Ripon College |
| Coach of the Year |
Kim Tatro |
Lawrence University |
2011 All-Midwest Conference North Division Team
| Position |
Athlete |
Year |
School |
| Catcher |
Alli Jensen |
Senior |
Ripon College |
| Second Base |
Amanda Strutz |
Junior |
Carroll University |
| Shortstop |
Steph Brunette |
Sophomore |
St. Norbert College |
| Shortstop |
Carli Gurholt |
Senior |
Lawrence University |
| Shortstop/Catcher |
Sarah Stariha |
Junior |
Beloit College |
| Outfield |
Brittany Narges |
Sophomore |
St. Norbert College |
| Outfield |
Cathy Kaye |
Sophomore |
Lawrence University |
| Outfield |
Morgan Buboltz |
Sophomore |
St. Norbert College |
| Pitcher/First Base |
Christine Roggemann |
Sophomore |
Carroll University |
| Pitcher |
Stephanie Rieuwpassa |
Sophomore |
Ripon College |
| Pitcher |
Brittnee Peotter |
Senior |
Ripon College |
| Pitcher |
Kari Corbeille |
Senior |
St. Norbert College |
2011 South Division Award Winners
| Player of the Year |
Lauren Bergstresser |
Monmouth College |
| Aubrey Pendegraft |
Lake Forest College |
| Pitcher of the Year |
Megan Butler |
Monmouth College |
| Coach of the Year |
John Goddard |
Monmouth College |
2011 All-Midwest Conference South Division Team
| Position |
Athlete |
Year |
School |
| Catcher |
Lauren Bergstresser |
Junior |
Monmouth College |
| Catcher/Outfield |
Ashley Cuthbert |
Sophomore |
Lake Forest College |
| Second Base/Outfield |
Brianna Gallo |
Senior |
Grinnell College |
| Shortstop |
Sydni Szafranski |
Senior |
Illinois College |
| Shortstop |
Jennifer Krueger |
Freshman |
Monmouth College |
| Third Base |
Aubrey Pendegraft |
Sophomore |
Lake Forest College |
| Third Base |
Caitlin Lingle |
Freshman |
Monmouth College |
| Outfield |
Brooke Twohill |
Junior |
Monmouth College |
| Pitcher/Outfield |
Amanda Stromquist |
Junior |
Grinnell College |
| Pitcher/Infielder |
Amber Eisha |
Freshman |
Knox College |
| Pitcher |
Kelly Chesnut |
Sophomore |
Lake Forest College |
| Pitcher |
Megan Butler |
Junior |
Monmouth College |