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Senior shortstop Melissa Wegner (right - .413, 32 R, 6 HR, 17 RBI, 15 SB, .924 Fld%) and senior pitcher Ashley Closson (8-5, 3.12 ERA, 82 K) took home the South Player and Pitcher of the Year awards, respectively, for the Foresters. Lake Forest head coach Tina Johnson earned her first South Division Coach of the Year award after winning her third conference title in as many years.

The Player of the Year award in the North was a unanimous decision, as Lawrence senior catcher Loni Philbrick-Linzmeyer (left - .370, 14 R, 30 RBI, .530 Slg%) received the honor. The South Pitcher of the Year award was split between Lawrence ’s Catherine Marinac (13-10, 2.51 ERA, 54 K) and Ripon’s Jen Mueller (12-11, 1.58 ERA, 94 K), while Lawrence ’s Kim Tatro and Ripon’s Kelly Witte shared South Coach of the Year honors.

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Lake Forest holds a 1-3 mark against NCAA Tournament qualifiers this season, with a 1-0 triumph over the University of Chicago, the No. 6 seed in the Augustana Regional, as the lone win. Possible second game opponent, Aurora, swept a doubleheader from Lake Forest in late March. The Foresters have won the fist game of their regional in each of the past four NCAA Tournaments, including a 5-0 win over Thomas More last year, head coach Tina Johnson’s (above) first leading the Foresters.

The 2006 Midwest Conference Softball Classic plays out on Saturday and Sunday, April 8-9 in Janesville, Wis. Saturday’s game times are 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., while Sunday’s action begins at 11 a.m. before the final contests of the weekend at 1 p.m. Five fields will be in use during each session, with four games taking place at Dawson Park and the fifth at Monterey Park.

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Lake Forest, the winner of the last four MWC Softball Championships, finished atop the rankings in the 2006 MWC Softball Coaches Poll. The Foresters received all nine possible first-place votes. Illinois College, the 2005 MWC South Division champion, was tabbed to finish second after receiving the final first-place nod.

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Klamann finished her Carroll career with several individual honors after leading the Lady Pioneers to back-to-back Midwest Conference titles in 2000 and 2001. She was named first-team all-conference and first team all-Great Lakes region in 2001 and 2002 and was the MWC’s 2001 Player of the Year in the north division.

The Lady Pioneers finished the 2005 season with a record of 7-21 overall, including a 5-8 mark in the Midwest Conference. The team finished 4 th in the league’s north division.

Jami Strinz has been hired as the new head softball coach at Beloit College, Buccaneer Athletic Director Kim Chandler announced today (July 5). Strinz will officially begin her duties at Wisconsin's oldest college on August 15, shortly after she completes her commitment with the Langhirano Caggiati professional softball team in Italy.

Strinz, 26, has a wealth of experience in the game, most recently in Italy. She played professionally this summer with the Langhirano team as a pitcher and third baseman. She doubled as an assistant coach, where she worked with about 100 girls and women between the ages of 8 and 35. Her primary coaching duties were working with pitchers and hitters at all levels within the club as well as managing Langhirano's junior program. She also conducted numerous pitching and hitting clinics in Italy.

Strinz, an Oregon native, graduated from Bradley University in Illinois in 2001 with a bachelor of arts degree in English. She played softball at Peoria and was a pitcher, third baseman and desiganted hitter.