University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Earn ACC Softball Honors
May 10, 2001 | Softball
May 10, 2001
Three University of North Carolina softball players capped the regular season with spots on the All-Atlantic Coast Conference Team, announced Thursday evening at the ACC Championship banquet. Tar Heel seniors Radara McHugh and Michelle Semmes and junior Natalie Anter were named to the 12-member team.
ACC regular-season champion Florida State led the way with five selections to the team and all three individual honors, as voted upon by the league's five head coaches. Like UNC, Virginia placed three players on the All-ACC team. One Maryland player rounded out the list.
Florida State junior Leslie Malerich earned ACC Player of the Year honors after leading the league with a 0.67 ERA and a 20-2 record on the mound. Malerich has a perfect 0.00 ERA in ACC games, giving up just 11 hits over 19 innings.
Florida State freshman Jessica van der Linden was named ACC Rookie of the Year. She started 58 of the Seminoles' 60 games this season, tallying 55 hits in 174 at-bats for a .316 batting average. She also has had a strong season on the mound, with a 0.78 ERA and a 13-3 record.
Seminole head coach Dr. Joanne Graf was selected as the ACC Coach of the Year, marking the fourth time that she has won the honor. Graf also was named Coach of the Year in 1992, 1993 and 1997. North Carolina head coach Donna Papa, who has earned Coach of the Year honors on three occasions, is the only other coach to win the award more than once.
Semmes and Anter have been named All-ACC in each of the last three years, and McHugh earned her second consecutive honor. Anter, a catcher from Upland, Calif., leads UNC with a batting average of .333 and has committed just two errors this season. Semmes, a shortstop from Fayetteville, N.C., leads the team in runs scored (27) and slugging percentage (.500). She needs just one hit to become Carolina career leader in that category. McHugh, a pitcher from Tulsa, Okla., is 20-10 this season with a career-best ERA of 0.93. She holds Tar Heel career records for appearances, starts, innings pitched, shutouts, wins and strikeouts.
The Tar Heels open play Friday in the ACC Championship at Walnut Creek Softball Complex in Raleigh, N.C. UNC, the No. 2 seed, plays third-seeded Virginia at 5 p.m. Games begin at 1 p.m. when fourth-seeded Georgia Tech meets fifth-seeded Maryland. The winner of that game meets top-seed Florida State at 7 p.m. Games are scheduled for 1, 3 and 5 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
2001 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Softball Team
Natalie Anter, Jr., North Carolina
Serita Brooks, Sr., Florida State
Michelle Burrell, Sr., Maryland
Kristen Dennis, Jr., Virginia
Robyn Gauger, Sr., Florida State
Leslie Malerich, Jr., Florida State
Radara McHugh, Sr., North Carolina
Ruby Rojas, So., Virginia
Michelle Semmes, Sr., North Carolina
Brandi Stuart, So., Florida State
Jessica van der Linden, Fr., Florida State
Meaghan Young, Sr., Virginia
ACC Player of the Year
Leslie Malerich, Jr., Florida State
ACC Rookie of the Year
Jessica van der Linden, Fr., Florida State
ACC Coach of the Year
Dr. Joanne Graf, Florida State
